


The New PPO

by LavenderandLouisa



Category: Bodyguard (TV 2018)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-31
Updated: 2019-11-09
Packaged: 2019-12-27 04:12:04
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 13
Words: 39,450
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18296588
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LavenderandLouisa/pseuds/LavenderandLouisa
Summary: Julia is introduced to her new PPO... and things develop from there.





	1. Chapter 1: The Introduction

BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP.

5:00 a.m. Julia Montague groaned and reached over to hit snooze on her phone. She hoped to buy another five minutes of sleep, but knew it was unrealistic. She felt like she had just gone to sleep; on second thought, she _had_ just gone to sleep. She had only put away the file she was reading at 3:00 a.m. and had tossed and turned thinking about the first of October attack for at least another twenty-five minutes. The last time she remembered looking at her phone before falling asleep was 3:27 a.m. Today was not going to be a good day. It certainly was going to be a day that she wished she drank something more caffeinated than tea.

BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP.

5:05. Julia sighed. No matter how much she hoped for more sleep, it was time to get up. Her mind was already racing thinking about the first of October: who else was involved, were there other attacks planned, was she doing enough to make sure an actual attack didn’t happen? She feared that the answer to this last question was no; while she hadn’t had a full briefing on it yet, it sounded as though the only reason the bombers hadn’t detonated the explosive device was because someone on board the train stopped them, not because the security services succeeded in preventing the bombing. There was far too much to do to justify staying in bed at the moment, not to mention that her security detail was scheduled to arrive in twenty minutes to take her to the gym. It had taken weeks to convince anyone that she should continue her morning workouts after they amped up her protection and she was afraid that missing even one day would make whichever idiot thought it was healthy for her to avoid her one form of stress relief take it away from her again.

Julia got out of bed and stumbled over to the bathroom in the dark to get ready for the gym. After dressing and filling her water bottle, she still had another few minutes before her security detail was due to arrive. She pulled out her phone to check the day’s schedule. She had an 8:30 meeting, a 10:00 call, an 11:30 meeting at Number 10, a 1:00 lunch meeting across town, three reports to finalize, new security measures to review, several interviews to consider handling regarding RIPA-18, a 3:30 meeting… and on and on and on. The odds of all of this running according to plan were slim to none. Julia sighed again. Yes, today was definitely not going to be a good day, or a short one. Running this day on ninety minutes of sleep or less was going to take every ounce of strength she had.

After perusing her calendar, Julia switched over to her email. How was it possible that Rob MacDonald had already replied to most of the emails she had sent him after midnight? Did that man have a life other than trying to do anything and everything she needed, at any moment in time? Did he even sleep? Julia shook her head in disgust. Thankfully he didn’t do _everything_ she needed, though she was sure he wouldn’t turn anything down. (As much as she really needed _that,_ Rob was one of the last men she would want… how long had it been since she’d had a man, anyway?), Honestly, how did she get stuck with a special advisor who was more interested in sleeping with her than anything else? The thought of Rob with less clothing than a full suit repulsed her, let alone the thought of him naked and in bed with her. The only benefit to Rob’s infatuation was that Rob was extra diligent at his work for he feared that the slightest misstep would ruin his chances of being with her in any other way.

The minutes ticked by. Where was her security detail? The guard stationed outside should have notified her when they arrived. Julia had half a mind to leave her flat and see for herself whether they were waiting for her and simply failed to notify her. Maybe she missed the knock on her door? At this rate, her workout was going to be nonexistent. This was not improving her already sour mood.

It was 5:45 when a knock sounded on the door to Julia’s flat. She opened the door to see the overnight guard with PC Tom Fenton, her PPO.

“Good morning, ma’am,” said PC Fenton.

Julia was surprised to see Fenton. As PPO, he typically met up with her when she arrived at the Home Office and was present with her for most of the rest of her twelve- to sixteen-hour day. Escorting her to the gym was usually relegated to another member of her security team, someone finishing up an overnight shift with only an hour or two to go before clocking out.

“What’s the meaning of this? Why are you here? I’ve been waiting for twenty minutes,” Julia snapped. As much as she liked Fenton, Julia did not tolerate delays well, especially when the delays intruded on her very limited personal time.

“I’m sorry, ma’am. There’s been a review of the members of your protection team and their corresponding responsibilities. The changes were not communicated to all of us immediately,” Tom started.

Julia was confused. She had not been informed of any change. Her confusion was apparent to Fenton, who continued, “Effective this morning, I am no longer your PPO. I’ll manage your mornings, starting with the security at the gym, but will generally be finished by lunchtime. I’m to verify that your gym is secure before escorting you there and then put the appropriate guards in place, which is why I’m late this morning. I was told to start my day at 5:00, but was unaware that both the sweep of the gym and picking you up had to be done by 5:25. Don’t worry, ma’am, everything will be back on schedule tomorrow.”

The shock and confusion must have still been apparent on Julia’s face. How was it possible that her entire security team was reorganized without her input, and worse, without even informing her?

“You’ll have to take any questions you have to Chief Superintendent Craddock,” concluded Fenton.

“Fine,” Julia sighed. “Can we can go now? I haven’t got all day.”

“Yes, ma’am. Of course,” said Fenton.

Sixty minutes later, Julia, Fenton and the other members of her security team exited the gym. Because they were twenty minutes late, Julia had missed the class she did on Wednesdays and ended up stuck on a treadmill, cutting her workout short and watching early morning news programs. Hearing every morning news anchor rehash the first of October attack and the lack of progress the government was making in preventing future terrorist attacks was not ideal in the slightest, but Julia was already resigned to the fact that this day was quickly going from bad to worse.

Back at her flat, Julia showered, curled her hair, and did her makeup, trying to hurry as much as possible. It appeared unlikely that she would make it to the Home Office on time for her 8:30 meeting. Julia picked up Chanel, her mostly-incompetent PR Advisor, on the way to the Home Office so that she could _hopefully_ be briefed on any last-minute updates prior to entering the meeting, but Chanel had nothing useful to say the entire drive; Julia could not understand how this woman had been hired in the first place. By the time her ministerial car arrived at the Home Office, Julia’s mood was a thousand times worse than it was when her alarm went off at 5:00 a.m.

PC Kim Knowles, Julia’s favorite member of her security team, opened the car door after it slowed to a stop. Kim seemed to relate to Julia the best; both were women in male-dominated professions, both were no-nonsense, and both could take the time to share a few well-meaning words to each other. If anyone could shed a little positivity on her day, it would be Kim.

“Kim…” Julia began.

“Ma’am, this is PS Budd, your new PPO,” Kim said. Kim gestured to the man standing at her side.

Apparently, Kim was _not_ going to shed any positive light on Julia’s day. Julia was hoping to avoid confirming the changes to her security team until she could take up the matter with Craddock, but that no longer seemed possible. If that failed, she was hoping that her new PPO would be someone who was already on her team, preferably Kim, but not only was there no Budd on her team prior to thirty seconds ago, she didn’t even recognize the name. How could Craddock make someone her PPO without even introducing them, making sure they were compatible? After all, Julia was not the easiest person to work with.

Expecting the worst, Julia glanced at the man at Kim’s side and almost did a double take. Was Kim serious? This…. man… who looked like he belonged on the cover of GQ magazine… was her new PPO? Was this a joke? Assigning what appeared to be the most attractive member of the force to be the PPO to the sex-starved Home Secretary? _This_ was torture that should be illegal.

“Pleasure to meet you, ma’am,” Budd was saying... in a Scottish accent, no less.

Pleasure, yes, that was pleasurable... Snap out of it, Julia told herself. Since when did she turn into a woman so easily infatuated by a nice body and a sexy voice? (Well, since when did she actually see or hear that?) This man had a job to do. Luckily Julia was adept at hiding her true feelings on a regular basis because of her role in politics and was fairly certain that none of her shock… or immediate interest… was obvious to anyone else present.

Julia extended her hand and shook Budd’s, pleased to note how firm and strong his handshake was. Why did a handshake suddenly seem so much more evocative? Julia had shaken hundreds, thousands, of men’s hands and none, not even her ex-husband’s, had a touch that brought shivers to her spine like that of PS Budd. Maybe this day wouldn’t be so bad after all. At least Julia would have something good to look at when she was stuck in her office.

“I was wondering if we could discuss you using the underground entrance from now on?” Budd continued.

No, it was still a bad day. With one question, the attractive PPO brought on Julia’s wrath and was anything but attractive to her anymore. How many times had Julia instructed her team, and Craddock, and anyone else who complained, that she was going to continue to enter the Home Office at the main entrance? She knew it was harder to secure the street than the parking garage, but she believed that it was her duty to show her face to the public. How could she hide herself from view in the name of safety and simultaneously expect all of her constituents to be present on the streets, in the trains, etc., where security was far less than what existed outside the main entrance to the Home Office? She couldn’t be that hypocritical and she wasn’t about to take the time to explain that to Mr. Gorgeous PPO right now. If he didn’t understand already, he probably never would. Meeting with Craddock and reviewing the changes to her team would have to be pushed up as a priority for the day… somehow…

“I’m late for a meeting,” Julia snapped. She turned on her heel and started towards the building.

As irritated as she was, she was still aware of the presence of the well-built PPO a few steps behind her and caught a glimpse of him in the window’s reflection as she entered the building. Hmmm, she sighed. _Even if he does annoy me, he is still lovely to look at._


	2. A Difficult Morning

Proceeding to the elevators, Julia resumed her conversation with Chanel.

“What’s happening with Andrew Marr?” Julia questioned.

“I’ll chase them today,” replied Chanel.

“I thought it was all confirmed?” asked Julia. Tomorrow’s schedule had been rearranged to accommodate the televised interview and given the combination of the increased terror threat and Julia’s personal goals of political advancement, it was an opportunity that couldn’t be missed.

Chanel hesitated. “There’s a possibility that No. 10 want the slot.”

Julia frowned. “And when were you planning to tell me?” They had been reviewing scheduled and potential PR events for the last thirty minutes in the car; why hadn’t this been mentioned? Julia had thought it was impossible for Chanel to get even worse at her job than she already was, but there was clearly no end to Chanel’s incompetence.

“I was waiting for the right moment.”

Fucking hell. Seriously? “You didn’t find it.” Hopefully a replacement for Chanel would be found soon; this behavior could no longer be tolerated.

In her irritation and her attempt to get back on schedule, Julia lost sight of PS Budd for the next ninety minutes. The 8:30 meeting to which she was late did not go well. She had hoped that the SO15 incident report for the first of October attack would have been distributed at the meeting, but no report was produced and no additional information about the terrorists, or those responsible for preventing the attack, was provided. As far as Julia was concerned, the individual who convinced the female terrorist not to detonate the explosive device deserved a commendation. Julia suspected that if it hadn’t been for the brave actions of that individual, the bomb would have exploded before the British Transport Police and the Metropolitan Police were able to stop it.

As she exited the meeting to take her 10:00 call, Chanel approached her.

“I’ve confirmed your slot with Andrew Marr for tomorrow, but the PM wants to see you at 10:45 this morning, instead of 11:30.”

Julia glanced at her watch. It was just shy of 10:00. If she was lucky, she could take her call and still make it to Number 10 by 10:45.

“Why?” Julia demanded.

“I don’t know. Roger Penhaligon asked for it,” came the response.

Julia scoffed. She should have known. This wasn’t about the PM wanting extra time with her, it was about her ex-husband wanting time. It was just like her ex-husband to try to railroad her as she was making headway and the PM was losing ground. Julia guessed that Roger was pissed that she was doing the Marr interview. Yes, it would shift the spotlight to her and away from the PM, but it wasn’t her problem that he had declined the interview.

“Fine. Make sure to update security on the change in plans,” Julia instructed Chanel. “And make sure you tell them the _correct_ time for once.”

Julia shook her head as she proceeded to her office and Chanel went in the opposite direction. Julia couldn’t count on Chanel to do anything correctly, but since Rob was in charge of constituent meetings all day and couldn’t run interference for her, she was stuck.

Fifteen minutes later, while in the middle of her 10:00 call, PS Budd knocked on her door. _Oh right, him_. He entered her office without waiting for her response.

Julia glared at him as she put her call on hold. How could he simply enter her office without her permission?

“Ma’am, we need to be leaving for your meeting if you want to make it on time.”

“I’m afraid you have the time wrong. We have another fifteen minutes and I need to finish this call.”

“No, ma’am. We need to take an alternate route. If we don’t leave now, you’ll be late.”

Julia continued glaring at Budd. “Why? What’s wrong with our regular route? I could walk there faster than what you’re proposing.”

“I don’t doubt that ma’am, but I would advise against it. It’s all for your safety, ma’am. We’d best leave now.”

PS Budd would not back down despite being shot what colleagues had deemed the “Julia Montague death stare,” but frankly, he made quite the intimidating figure, standing in Julia’s office without having obtained permission to enter and clearly not afraid of being on the receiving end of her wrath.

It seemed unlikely that Julia would win on this one. She ended her call, gathered her things, and followed PS Budd to the elevators, where Budd selected the basement level rather than the ground floor. Julia shook her head and sighed. Once the elevator stopped, Budd led her through to the underground entrance, where her car was waiting.

“Sergeant Budd. This will be the first and _only_ time you have me use the underground entrance, do you understand? I have instructed every member of my security team, including your supervisors, on this, yet you appear to think that it’s okay to go against my instructions.” Julia’s tone was scathing. Who was this PS Budd and just exactly how did he think he could get away with all of this?

Budd remained silent, which only served to aggravate Julia further. However, as he held open the car door for her, Julia’s hand accidentally brushed against his and she could not help but catch a whiff of his cologne. She froze. For three seconds, the world stopped. She forgot her aggravation and was distracted by how attractive PS Budd was. She almost couldn’t move . . . She almost didn’t _want_ to move. She wanted to be as close to him as possible, for as long as possible.

Julia’s reverie was broken by the sound of a car horn somewhere else in the garage. She felt a rush of heat flood to her cheeks. She slid down into her seat as PS Budd closed the car door, hoping that he hadn’t noticed any of this. This behavior, these reactions, were completely out of character. Even after the car started moving, she couldn’t quite shake the feeling of butterflies in her stomach and couldn’t help but steal the occasional glance at the back of his head while they drove to Number 10.

Julia hadn’t felt this way in years. _Snap out of it_ , she told herself. _He’s your PPO and the only thing you know about him is that he’s good at making your life difficult_.

 


	3. Making Things Difficult

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel like this chapter’s a bit slow, but wanted to delve more into the first day they met. Things will pick up!

Ten hours later, back at the Home Office, Julia tried to hold back a yawn. It had been a long day and it was nowhere near over yet. Given that there weren’t too many people still in the office, she decided it was time to head home and work there.

Julia was used to working at home, on all days and at all hours. Her flat was more like an extension of her office than a respite from the office and it had been that way for as long as she could remember. She hadn’t become one of London’s leading criminal barristers by leaving her work at the office, and she certainly wouldn’t become PM by leaving her work at the office.

Julia notified Kim that she was ready to leave. She hadn’t seen PS Budd in several hours, so she assumed that he must’ve called it a day long before she did. How inappropriate. Barring unusual circumstances – far more unusual than working a 12-hour day – her PPO was with her until she returned to her flat each evening. She hadn’t had time to speak with Craddock about the changes in her security team yet, but PS Budd’s decision to leave early would be another complaint to add to the conversation.

Kim escorted Julia from her office to the elevators. Relief washed over Julia when Kim selected the button for the ground level instead of the basement for the underground entrance. Julia must’ve sighed audibly at that, for Kim immediately responded.

“I understand there’s a . . . debate . . . between you and Sergeant Budd over the underground entrance. I’ve managed to convince him that we can exit as normal this evening. Figured you’d appreciate that, ma’am, after a long day. We’ll have you to your car in no time, and I’ll see what I can do about convincing Sergeant Budd to use the main entrance from now on.”

“Thank you, Kim.” Julia smiled. She could always count on Kim.

Julia’s smile quickly disappeared as she exited the elevator. Standing outside of it, waiting to take over escorting Julia to her car, was PS Budd.

“Ma’am. Against my advice, your car is outside. If you could follow me quickly, we’ll be on our way.”

Julia could hear the irritation in Budd’s voice. He was not happy with using the main entrance. God knows how Kim managed to convince him to let her do it.

Kim nodded to Budd as he took over and then looked back at Julia. “Goodnight, ma’am.”

“Goodnight, Kim.”

Once in the car, Julia was perusing one of the files that she brought home when she remembered that she had never caught up with Rob to prepare for the Andrew Marr interview in the morning. He was supposed to have the talking points to her by mid-afternoon so that she could review them with him before leaving for the evening, but she still hadn’t received them and she hadn’t seen or spoken to Rob since the morning.

Wishing she had another option, but knowing she didn’t, Julia phoned Rob.

“Hi, it’s me. We need to…” Julia paused. She hated contacting Rob in the evenings and more than that, she hated seeing him in the evenings. Rob was interested in her… too interested. Whenever they worked alone together, he would bring her gifts or ply her with wine (or both). He would try to touch her shoulder, or her arm, or her hand, and there was that one time when he actually rested his hand on her thigh for a second before she glared at him and stood up. Julia never did anything to reciprocate these gestures or to suggest that she had feelings for him. She couldn’t help needing to work late with him, or needing to work alone with him. That was part of the job, not some way to tell him that she was on board with his goal of getting into her pants.

“We need to… catch up. Come to the flat. Not sure what time I’ll be home. Depends on the traffic.”

Julia hung up the phone and resumed working. Almost immediately, PS Budd instructed her driver, Terry, to take an alternate route, one that would add significant time to her drive home. To Julia, it seemed as though the alternate route was a reaction to Julia’s voicemail to Rob. Her message should have shown how important it was for her to get home quickly, but it had the opposite effect on Budd.

“Terry’s been driving me for three years. I think he can be trusted to determine the fastest route.”

“I’ve made a dynamic risk assessment and given the current threat level, I’m recommending a diversion.”

Julia and Budd continued to argue, but once again, Budd won.

“Take the South Circ if you don’t mind, Terry. My job’s to keep you safe, ma’am. I won’t tell you how to do yours…”

Julia stared down at her file and scowled. “No, but you’re happy to make it harder.” He’d been doing that all day – the underground entrance, the alternate route to Number 10, the alternate route home. Julia felt fairly certain that Budd’s role in her life was to complicate things and he was definitely succeeding. What made it worse was that Julia still couldn’t shake the physical attraction that she felt towards him. How could she be attracted to someone who made her life so difficult? She tried to convince herself that it wasn’t attraction, it was just admiring a well-built body, but that didn’t work; admiration wouldn’t cause the butterflies in her stomach, or the shivers in her spine, on the two instances of physical contact.

Almost an hour later, the car reached Julia’s flat. Julia refused to even acknowledge Sergeant Budd when he opened the car door for her and led her into her flat. The tension in the air between them had grown exponentially with each passing minute of the drive, though not another word had been spoken. With every red light, with every slow down for traffic, Julia glared at the back of Budd’s head in the car and occasionally his piercing blue eyes caught her glare in the rear view mirror. Now that she was safely inside her flat, Julia prayed that he would leave her immediately because she needed to get down to work; she had no use for more of his pointless delays.

“If you wouldn’t mind holding here a moment please, ma’am.”

Of course she minded. Julia sighed and rolled her eyes. She was standing in the hallway entrance to her flat, which had been locked all day and was protected by an armed guard stationed outside. Why the hell was Budd holding her hostage in her hallway???

After phoning Rob to ask him to bring dinner when he came over, Julia’s patience with Budd’s behavior ran out. She started down the hallway, putting down her things and trying to figure out where he had gone. She found him in her bedroom and paused.

Julia’s flat was not fit for entertaining. While she enjoyed its simple décor, most people would find the entire flat impersonal, devoid of life and meaning. There were no family pictures, no vacation postcards, no scribbled drawings from children. There was hardly any food in the kitchen. There were elaborate bookcases filled with memoirs, biographies, historical analyses, and political theory. Julia’s friends had commented on this in the past… back when she had friends, or if not friends, at least people she was supposedly close enough to to invite to her home… but she dismissed their remarks without concern, knowing that they simply did not understand her or appreciate her for who she was (which is probably why they weren’t still her friends). However, no one had been in her bedroom in years. She supposed Fenton had wandered through when he did his initial security scan as her PPO, but that hadn’t bothered her. PS Budd in her bedroom, on the other hand, was unsettling. For the first time that she could recall, she was actually _worried_ about what someone thought of her flat; no, not just her flat: one particular room. Her bedroom.

_Dammit, Julia. Stop thinking like this._ Julia hadn’t been on a date in several years and it wasn’t for lack of interest from a number of men. She assumed that most of them were only interested in her because they wanted to be one stop closer to power, so she turned them down immediately. If that wasn’t appalling enough, she had never found any of them remotely attractive. Sergeant Budd, though… he was the kind of man she would love to have in her bedroom.

And there he was, in her bedroom, being obnoxious.

“May I ask what you’re doing?”

“What’s behind this door?”

“My study.”

Julia needed him to leave. She was pissed at how long her day was, how much work she still needed to complete, the fact that Rob was coming over, and all of these unnecessary extra security measures. She was also unnerved by her reaction to Budd’s presence in her bedroom, so she told him to fuck off. He wasn’t phased by it in the slightest.

While Budd continued to examine every last corner of Julia’s flat, Julia settled down at her desk. She pulled out the SO15 incident report that had finally been completed shortly before she left the office and started to read.

_…an off-duty police officer, Police Sergeant David Budd of the Royalty and Specialist Protection Branch of the Metropolitan Police Force_ …

“Shit.” Julia swore under her breath. Though she didn’t know his first name, that had to be Budd. “Fucking hell.” Julia’s hand ran through her hair out of habit, pulling nervously on the ends of her curls. “Shit,” she muttered again.

_He’s the fucking officer who deserves the commendation that I want to give out. The only reason the train wasn’t blown to pieces. The only reason there weren’t tens or hundreds of deaths. They didn’t give me an incompetent PPO, they gave me the most competent one out of the whole lot. Fuck._

Julia had blown it. Try as she might, she couldn’t justify treating this hero the way she had treated him all day. And, if she were honest to herself, she probably couldn’t justify treating him this way even if he hadn’t been a hero.

Julia looked up from the report when she heard footsteps enter the room.

“PC Knowles said your name’s Budd.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“The officer who prevented the first of October attack. That was you?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

Exactly what she suspected.

“It’s been a long and trying day. I’m sorry we got off on the wrong foot.”

Julia made an awkward attempt to apologize, which came out more as an order that Budd forgive her than a plea for forgiveness. That wouldn’t do at all.

“No, really, I’ve been a total cow.”

_Did I really just say that? Since when do I so openly admit I’m wrong?!_

Julia saw the start of a smile form on Budd’s face. It was the first time his face hadn’t looked like stone all day.

“All is forgiven.”

Julia’s smile in return went straight to her eyes, despite still having an element of embarrassment in it. Seeing Budd smile… no, seeing _David_ smile… was something she’d like to see more of. It was honestly the nicest part of her whole day.


	4. The Shirt off His Back

The mood was soon shattered by the ringing of the doorbell. Bloody Rob. He was here.

“I can get it!” Julia shouted. She had lost track of where in her flat David was and she was concerned that he might reach the door first. While the thought of David putting Rob in his place was entertaining, she was very concerned that David would get the wrong impression about Rob. Since Rob hadn’t been in the office all day, the two hadn’t met yet. It would be no surprise if Rob showed up with wine, flowers, or some other gift (or a combination of the three), making him look more like a suitor of Julia’s than a colleague. The last thing that Julia wanted was for David to think that she was actually _attracted_ to the weasely, sniveling, attention-seeking fool who worked for her. Julia was far more attracted to strong, attractive men like her new PPO…even if they did make her day difficult.

Nonetheless, David beat Julia to the door. Julia’s disappointment disappeared quickly, though, when she arrived in time to see Rob’s reaction to David. It was clear that Rob thought that David was… _something_ … to Julia. _Something_ other than a PPO. _Something_ that would mean that Julia was no longer single and that Rob had no chance with her. _Something_ that, sadly, wasn’t true, which meant that Rob would continue to pursue her. Julia sighed inwardly when Rob realized who David was and sighed again when David indicated that he was done for the evening. Julia was stuck with Rob for the night…alone.

Julia led Rob into the living room as David was leaving. As soon as they appeared to be alone, Rob took out the bottle of wine which he had brought to surprise her, or more accurately put, to woo her. Rob reached out to touch her; appalled, Julia backed away. Glancing up, Julia saw David backing out of the doorway, having witnessed the entire exchange. As if noticing her glance, but without making eye contact with her, David left.

Rob babbled on about the vintage of the wine, but Julia wasn’t listening. What did David think of her? Could he tell that Rob’s feelings were not reciprocated? Would David think that she was just a lonely woman so badly in need of male company that she required that her male colleagues come to her house late at night to “work?” Julia was disgusted. She was also surprised that she was bothered so much by what one person might think of all of this. David was one man whom she had known for less than twenty-four hours, but he was one man to whom she was more attracted than any man she had met in a long time.

Cutting off Rob’s speech about the wine, Julia snapped at him. “I don’t care about your damn wine. In fact, take it home with you. Where are the talking points for the Marr interview? You said you’d have them to me by this afternoon.”

Rob backed away in dismay. He started to stammer and pulled out his phone. Clearly he had not expected his attention to be dismissed so easily, and he wasn’t even ready to discuss work.

“Rob. The talking points?”

“Yes, they’re… umm… in here… just a second…” Rob typed and scrolled frantically on his phone. “Ah, yes, here they are.”

“Why don’t you have a copy for me?”

“They’re in electronic form…”

“Electronic form. E-mail them to me. Now. Like you could have _hours_ ago. And while you’re at it, email me anything else you have that _might_ be relevant for tomorrow.”

Rob continued to go through his phone in a state of shock. Seeing David at the door had thrown him off; combining that with having his gift of wine dismissed so readily, and being reprimanded about the talking points, was more than he could apparently handle in one evening. When he confirmed that he had emailed Julia anything even remotely relevant to tomorrow’s interview, Julia dismissed him.

“Why don’t you go now, Rob? I have a shit ton of work to do and thanks to your delay on the talking points, reviewing them is now on my list. Take the food with you. I’m too busy to eat.”

The bag of food sat untouched on the table. Julia was starving, but she didn’t want to give Rob the satisfaction of needing the food that he had brought, or of sharing a meal with him.

Rob shook his head, muttered something inaudible, and quickly headed to the door. The look on his face was still one of shock, something in which Julia took pleasure. As she locked the door behind him, Julia hoped that the course of this evening’s events might finally convince Rob that she was anything but romantically interested in him.

Back at the couch, Julia opened the bag of takeaway that Rob had left behind. She started to pick on the food while going through the emails Rob had forwarded to her. Once she finished with those emails, she noticed another email. This email was about her protection team. Selecting the email, Julia started to read.

… _assignment of a new PPO… Sergeant David Budd…military and specialty protection services background… war hero… next of kin: two children (in London) and mother (in Scotland); married, but separated, so mother is emergency contact…frequently volunteers for longer shifts and/or weekend/evening shifts as primary custody of the children is with their mother…_

Julia re-read the last part. Fascinating, what information was thought to be relevant for a PPO’s dossier. David was married, but clearly not happily so. Julia hated herself a bit for being _pleased_ about this piece of information; after all, she knew better than most how miserable a marriage could be and would never wish that on anyone. Still, given her current infatuation with David, she took comfort in knowing that he wasn’t going home to a wife while she was home alone.

Moving on, Julia managed to push thoughts of David from her mind while she finished going through the remainder of her emails and a few more files. At just around midnight, she went to bed. Reviewing tomorrow’s schedule in her mind, Julia’s thoughts turned once again to David. Tomorrow would be hectic, as most days were, but she felt a strange since of comfort in knowing that David would be there. She smiled and shook her head. _How can one man… one annoying and aggravating and controlling man… make me look forward to tomorrow in a way that I haven’t in ages?_

\- - - - - -

His hands moved from her shoulders to the top button of her blouse. As he slowly unfastened button after button, his piercing blue eyes met hers. She thought she might come just from the intensity of his look and the feel of his fingers opening up her blouse. His fingers grazed across her stomach and she shivered. His hands moved around to her back, underneath her blouse. He pulled her closer to him, but not close enough that their lower halves touched. In fact, it appeared that he intentionally stopped their lower halves from touching. Her breath became more erratic as his strong, calloused hands moved up her back and unclasped her bra. In two quick movements, he had both her bra and her blouse off. She barely registered the movement of her arms as he did it. She wasn’t sure if it was the cool air of the room touching her breasts or her arousal that made her nipples as perky as they were. In an instant, his warm mouth closed over her left breast, his tongue circling the nipple and making it harder than it already was. As he moved his mouth to her other breast, he ran his fingernails down her back. She gasped. When his hands reached the top of her pants, he slipped them between the fabric and her skin. Grabbing the top of her ass, he finally pulled her lower half in contact with his lower half. She moaned as she felt his arousal through both of their pants. She started to grind her hips against his, prompting moans from…

BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP.

Julia awoke with a start. Her breath erratic, her heart racing, the tops of her thighs wet with want. It took her a few seconds to realize where she was and what was happening. She looked around her room, around her bed. Both were empty, as always. It was a dream. Just a dream. David wasn’t here. David would never be here, unless he was inspecting the room for security risks. Julia took a few deep breaths, trying to bring herself back to reality. She hadn’t dreamt about a man, hadn’t woken with a feeling of such desire, of such need, in years. As she rolled over, she felt how sensitive her nipples still were as the sheets dragged across her satin negligee. She could still feel the wetness between her thighs. It wouldn’t take much to finish what the dream had started. She reached her hand down between her thighs, hips rocking as her fingers met their target. She was soaking wet.  She moaned and closed her eyes. She saw _his_ eyes, staring at her throughout the day. She saw _his_ hand touch hers as she entered the car. She saw _his_ mouth start to smile when she apologized for being such a cow. She saw _his_ eyes again, and got lost in them, until she reached the most intense orgasm she’d had in years.

\- - - - -

Later that morning, Julia sat in the news studio, reviewing her notes while waiting for her interview with Andrew Marr. David stood silent and still by the hallway door. (When she first saw him that morning, Julia had felt herself flush immediately, embarrassed at how dreams and thoughts of him had gotten her off so intensely only a few hours before. Luckily, he hadn’t seemed to notice and she was able to move on without doing anything else to reveal that she currently thought that he was the most attractive man alive.)

Rob, the ever-annoying bastard, paced the green room nervously. He wasn’t happy. He hadn’t said more than two things to her all morning. Julia assumed that he was still upset that his plans of wooing her last night hadn’t worked. Luckily Julia never got nervous before interviews, but if Rob continued like this, he was going to set her off.

Rob stilled in front of her. “I bet the PM pulled out because he knew you’d do a much better job.”

_Really? Is Rob an idiot? The PM is floundering and most people with any political sense assume that I’ll be the one to challenge him._

“Sounds like a reason not to pull out.”

Rob backed away like a wounded animal, bitten by the hand that feeds him. At the same time, Chanel entered the room, carrying several cups of coffee and a bag of food. It was about time. Julia had requested the coffee as soon as they got there; what had taken her so long? She had less than two minutes to down the cup of decaf. This woman really needed to be fired.

With all of the coffee and food still balanced precariously in her arms, Chanel started to hand the decaf to Julia. Julia sensed impending disaster, but couldn’t completely back away from Chanel fast enough. Chanel lost hold of Julia’s cup, dropping it directly onto Julia. The entire contents spilled all over her blouse.

“Christ!” Julia tore off her jacket, which miraculously seemed unharmed, and pulled the front of her blouse away from her body. The coffee wasn’t scalding hot, but the heat was still too uncomfortable to leave touching her skin. She tried to shake the coffee off of it, but it didn’t work. The blouse was ruined. And in a minute, she would have to go on live television for an interview.

Julia heard Rob and Chanel argue about what to do while she tried to prevent panic from setting in. She had no spare shirt. The suit jacket couldn’t be worn alone. Maybe if she buttoned up the jacket, it would hide the stain? No, it would still be soaking wet and would likely soak through the jacket, too, not to mention drip onto her pants. Maybe the studio had something she could wear? Unlikely. Then, out of the corner of her eye, Julia saw David approach.

David removed his tie. He slipped off his earpiece and started to remove his suit jacket.

“Fresh on this morning, ma’am.”

Julia glanced at him, partially in shock and partially in gratitude. Her shock and gratitude were initially for his quick thinking, but soon turned to shock and gratitude for something else. David started on the buttons of his shirt. Directly in front of her. She was going to see David shirtless.

Rob was exasperated by this. “You’ve got to be kidding me!”

“My shirts are altered to fit over my ballistic vest, so the chest to waist ratio should be compatible.”

_I hope he’s right_.

“Well, don’t all stand around gawping. And you,” Julia ordered, turning towards Chanel, “fuck off and organize Sergeant Budd a new shirt.”

Chanel stormed off, but Rob remained frozen to his spot, staring at David. Julia turned back to David and ran her hand through her curls a few times, trying to hide the fact that she was staring at him as he finished taking off his shirt. His body was better than she could have imagined. The muscles in his arms… a tattoo on his left bicep… the broadness of his shoulders… the expanse of his chest, even with the ballistic vest still on.

David turned around and took a few steps back after handing Julia his shirt. Rob, on the other hand, was still glued to his spot.

“Some privacy?”

_Does he really think I’m going to strip down in front of him???_

“Yeah, of course. Yeah.”

Rob quickly turned and left the room.

Assuming she had thirty seconds or less until she was called for the interview, Julia pulled her coffee-soaked blouse over her head. She picked up David’s shirt from where she had carefully placed it. As she slipped her arms into it, she could smell David’s cologne. She inhaled deeply. The shirt was warm, warm from David’s skin. It felt as though David had wrapped his arms around her, enveloping her in his skin, holding her close against his strong body, encircling her with his kindness. No one else offered the shirt off his back for her, just David. As her fingers quickly did up the buttons, she glanced over her shoulder to where David was standing. David’s back was to her and he was adjusting his earpiece over his suit jacket.

The air in the room between them felt charged with electricity. Julia wondered if she was imagining it, or if David felt it, too.

The studio runner entered at that moment to lead her to the studio.

“Follow me, ma’am. They’re ready for you.”

Julia nodded her head. She glanced down at her new shirt under her jacket. It seemed to fit well, but there was no mirror in the room with which she could verify that. She followed after the runner, with David two steps behind her.

“PS Budd.” She turned to him when they stopped outside the entrance to the studio.

David simply nodded.

“Thank you. For the shirt. It was very kind of you. I’m afraid to ask, since I have no other option, but is it noticeable? That it’s a man’s shirt? Or at least that it isn’t mine?”

“Ma’am, if I may say so?” David started and then paused, his eyes posing a question. Julia nodded. She could hear his inhale and exhale of breath and then watched as his intense blue eyes, the eyes that followed her all day, slowly scanned her from head to toe. David raised his eyes to meet hers. “I think my shirt looks good on you.”

Julia bit her bottom lip and blushed.

 


	5. More Clothing

“Ma’am, if I may say so?” David started and then paused, his eyes posing a question.  Julia nodded.  She could hear his inhale and exhale of breath and then watched as his intense blue eyes, the eyes that followed her all day, slowly scanned her from head to toe.  David raised his eyes to meet hers.  “I think my shirt looks good on you.”

 

Julia bit her bottom lip and blushed.

 

Propriety dictated that Julia turn away before her body revealed her thoughts to David – thoughts that involved wearing his shirt after they’d made love – but it was too late.  Julia couldn’t have turned away if she wanted to, and she definitely didn’t want to.  David’s gaze held hers.  Their eyes were locked.  The blue of David’s eyes darkened as his pupils dilated.  She could stare at his eyes forever.  They were boyish and playful, but there was something else there, too.  Julia couldn’t tell if it was uncertainty or insecurity, or a mixture of both.

 

“Ten seconds, ma’am,” interrupted the runner, trying to get Julia into the studio.

 

Julia swallowed, her eyes still glued to David’s.

 

“Thank you,” she whispered, still looking at David.  She sounded breathless.  While the runner could have assumed the thanks was to him, it was meant for David.

 

David nodded almost imperceptibly.  “Anytime,” he whispered back. 

 

Julia felt her heart racing, and it had nothing to do with the interview she was about to give. 

 

\- - - - -

 

Miraculously, Chanel managed to find David a new shirt by the time they returned to the Home Office after the interview, thereby relieving Julia of the obligation of changing into the blouse that was part of the spare suit she always kept there.  Julia hoped that no one would ask her why she didn’t change regardless, because she would never admit the real reason to anyone.  The shirt still smelled liked David.  It made her feel safe, warm, protected, touched by another human being in a way that she hadn’t been in far too long.  She enjoyed it too much to part with the shirt before she absolutely had to.

 

The rest of the day went by in a blur.  By the time 10:30 p.m. rolled around, Julia was ready to leave the office; she was exhausted.  Exhausted, but shockingly not irritable.  She didn’t even put up a fight when David requested that they use the underground entrance to exit the building and she felt rewarded for her good behavior when David suggested they stop for takeaway since he correctly assumed that she had no food at home.  He didn’t allow her to leave the car to get the food herself – that task was assigned to the backup vehicle until he could adequately scope out several local restaurants – but after placing the order, their gazes met each other’s in the rear-view mirror and he smiled at her.  Julia smiled back.  She felt an odd sense of peace and couldn’t figure out why.

 

Julia must have looked as exhausted as she felt because when they finally arrived at her flat, David only did a quick security sweep before letting her wait on the couch and start her dinner while he finished the rest of the surveillance.

 

“Have a good night, ma’am.”

 

Julia jumped.  She had started to doze off on the couch, with her dinner mostly untouched and having forgotten that David was still in her flat.

 

“Are you alright, ma’am?”  David looked at her with concern and took a few steps closer to her, unsure of how to proceed.

 

“I’m sorry, Sergeant.  I …” Julia ran one hand through her curls and shook her head.  She stared at the food in front of her and the pile of work next to it.  “I’m tired.  I’m sorry, I’m fine.  I just… long day.  No,” she corrected.  “Long week.” 

 

David took another few steps towards her, very clearly unsure of his place.  “Why don’t you get some rest, ma’am?  If you’re done eating, I’ll put this away for you before I leave.”  

 

Julia looked up at David, now within arms’ reach of where she sat on the couch.  The kindness and concern she saw in his face made her want to cry.  She blamed it on exhaustion, but in reality, no one had been this kind to her, had cared this much about her, in a very long time.  First his shirt, now his willingness to put away her dinner, a dinner that had been his idea in the first place.

 

“Thank you, PS Budd, but I can do it.  I’m not that incompetent.”  Julia gave a slight laugh as she said it and looked back down at the food and her work.

 

“I didn’t think you were, ma’am.  But you look exhausted.” 

 

David reached down to take the containers of food just as Julia stood up and reached out for them herself.  Their hands met, closing over the first container.  David gave her hand a squeeze.  “Really, ma’am.  I’ve got this.” 

 

Julia looked up at David.  She struggled with the decision.  She wasn’t used to people helping her, nor was she used to wanting help or to letting someone help her, but for all of thirty seconds, she just wanted to feel what it was like to have someone care for her.  “Thank you, Sergeant.  I appreciate it.  I’ll see you in the morning.”

 

“Not a problem, ma’am.”  David let go of her hand and picked up the containers of food.  She watched him walk into her kitchen with it and took one last look at her work still on the table.  Deciding it could all wait until morning, Julia turned around and headed to the bedroom.  She heard David open and shut the front door.

 

Julia ran her hand through her curls again and leaned against the doorframe.  Why did he get to her like this?  He was sweet.  Annoying, but sweet.  And attractive.  Caring.  Kind.  And attractive.  Downright hot, if she was honest with herself, and his kindness made him sexier.  Seeing him without his button-down shirt hadn’t hurt either, even though his vest had still been on.

 

Julia took a few steps into the room, unbuttoning David’s shirt that she still wore.  She tossed it on the chair nearest her, then paused and looked down at the shirt.  _Should I?_   She glanced away from the shirt, but something about it drew her gaze back again.  She looked down at it.  _It can’t hurt.  And it’s not like he’ll ever know._

 

Julia finished undressing, but rather than putting on a nightshirt, a comfortable pair of pajamas, or a sexy slip, she picked up David’s shirt and put it back on.  She smiled as she climbed into bed, imagining that the shirt was David’s arms holding her.  She fell asleep almost instantly and had one of the most restful nights of sleep that she’d had in a long time.

 

\- - - - -

 

Friday came and went uneventfully, or at least as uneventfully as a day in the Home Office in the week of an attempted terrorist attack could go.  Julia brought a pile of work home with her, as usual, but she was nonetheless mostly looking forward to her weekend.  None of her work required interaction with Rob (definitely a plus!) and she had a benefit gala for a local charity to attend, which was completely unrelated to work and was unlikely to be dominated by politicians and other influential power-players vying for her time.  She was even more pleased by the prospect of the gala when she learned that one PS David Budd had volunteered to be part of her security team for the event, despite the fact that it was a weekend _and_ not an official government affair.

 

Doors were set to open for the gala at 6:30 p.m. on Saturday.  By mid-afternoon, Julia set aside her work and started to get ready for the event.  She pulled an off-the-shoulder floor-length red chiffon evening dress out of her closet.  She brought it into the living room to see it in better light.  Yes, this would do quite nicely.  The top was beaded and the small train was lace. She hadn’t worn it to any event yet, but she knew that it would accent her curves beautifully.  She left it draped it over the back of the couch, turned on some music, and poured herself a glass of wine.  She proceeded to shower, assuming that she still had plenty of time to get ready.

 

The ringing of her phone got Julia’s attention as she stepped out of the shower.  Caught off guard by the name on the screen because she wasn’t expecting him for another hour, she answered.  

 

“Hello, ma’am.  PC Knowles recommended that I arrive early so that I can brief you on the security plans for the evening.”

 

_Kim.  What a sweetheart, trying to make her life easier._

 

“Thank you, PS Budd.,” responded Julia.  “That’s an excellent idea.  When will you get here?”

 

“I’m here already, ma’am.  I can wait outside if you need extra time.  The backup vehicle won’t be here for another hour yet.”

 

_You’re here?_   Julia looked in the mirror.  She was wrapped in a towel, hair dripping wet, absolutely no makeup on. Julia thought quickly.

 

“Do you have a key to the flat yet?  PC Fenton had one.  I believe they should have issued one to you?”

 

“Yes, ma’am.”

 

“Please, let yourself in and make yourself comfortable.  I’m still getting ready.”

 

“Thank you, ma’am.”

 

Julia disconnected the call and continued to get ready.  She applied her makeup.  She dried her hair and curled it.  Still wrapped in a towel, she went into her bedroom to get her dress only to remember that it wasn’t there.  It was in the living room.  Which was likely the place where David was waiting for her.  And she was still wrapped in a towel.

 

_Fuck._

 

Julia proceeded to the living room, in the towel.  She breathed a sigh of relief when David was nowhere to be seen, but as she grabbed her dress, she heard the sound of footsteps.  Julia turned.  David entered the room from the kitchen and his face showed immediate embarrassment when he realized she wasn’t dressed.  He promptly turned back around.

 

“I’m sorry, ma’am.  I didn’t see anything.”  His voice was strained.  Julia could see the tension pulling his tuxedo jacket tight across his shoulders.

 

“In my experience, most men aren’t that gentlemanly, Sergeant.  It’s my fault.  I forgot I left my dress out here.” 

 

David didn’t move or say another word as Julia grabbed her dress and quickly exited the room.  _Lovely, I treat him like shit on day one and by day four, I make him uncomfortable by being half-naked.._

Back in the confines of her bedroom, Julia pulled the dress on.  It fit like a glove.  The perfect combination of elegance and beauty, with a touch of sex appeal. 

 

But there was a problem. 

 

The buttons running down the back of the dress were real.  She could only do the lower half of them herself.  Try as she might, she could not button the top half of the dress.

 

_Shit._

 

She tried again.  Still nothing.  There was no way she could do this herself.  Frustrated, she put on her pearl necklace and earrings and then struggled with the bracelet.

 

_Shit, shit, shit._

 

She would need help with the bracelet, too.

 

_Fuck._

 

Julia walked back out into the living room, where David was now staring out the window. 

 

“Excuse me, Sergeant Budd.”

 

David turned at the sound of her voice.

 

“I need…”

 

Julia stopped speaking.  She watched David’s eyes, mesmerized.  Three times they roamed up and down her body, taking her in from head to toe.  There was no embarrassment in his face anymore, just pure desire, visible from where she stood across the room.  

 

“I need…” She could barely concentrate with him staring at her like that.  Her ex-husband had never even looked at her that way.

 

“I need help with my dress, Sergeant Budd.”  Julia took a few steps closer, eyes now locked with David’s.  She pointed to her back.  “And my bracelet.”  She stopped next to the couch, holding out the bracelet in her hand.  David hadn’t moved from his post by the window.  “Please?”  By now her voice was little more than a whisper, and a breathless one at that.

 

As if in a trance, he stepped towards her.  Julia turned her back to him.  “The buttons.  I’m sorry, but I can’t do them myself.”

 

David was standing right behind her.  When his fingers reached the first button, they also grazed her back.  Julia inhaled sharply and closed her eyes.  His fingers grazed her back when he reached the second button, and the third, and the fourth....  Julia realized that she was holding her breath.  She let it go slowly, eyes still closed.  She could feel her heart pounding in her chest.

 

“All set, ma’am.”  David’s voice was low, unusually husky. 

 

Julia turned around and held out the bracelet.  “Can you do this, too?”  She was too afraid to look at him when she said it, so she kept her eyes on the bracelet itself.

 

David took the bracelet in his hands and wrapped it around her wrist.  She watched as he did it.  Julia was afraid that he would feel her pulse there, hammering out of control.  After doing the clasp, David’s fingers remained on her wrist, and Julia didn’t pull away.  Feeling his gaze on her, she looked up.  They stared at each other, speechless.  To Julia, it felt like all time had stopped and nothing else existed but the two of them.

 

“You look stunning, ma’am.”

 

Julia had to say something, but she didn’t trust her voice to work properly.  For the life of her, she couldn’t remember what they _should_ be doing.  This was dangerous.  She could feel parts of her body coming to life that hadn’t been in a very long time.  Very dangerous.  Danger.  Security.  Right.

 

“So, the security plan…” Julia started and pulled her hand away.  She turned on her heel and paced off into the kitchen to get her glass of wine.  She needed space.  She needed to _not_ feel his breath on her neck, or his fingers on her wrist; to _not_ see his eyes, alive with desire. 

 

With the glass of wine in her hand giving her something else to focus on, Julia returned to the living room. 

 

“Yes, ma’am.”  All professional.  Not even a waver to his voice to suggest that he was as turned on as his eyes had suggested.  _How did he do that?_  

 

David pulled a piece of paper out of his pocket with an outline of the venue.  “As you can see, here and here…”  David continued to talk and to point out various security measures.  Julia nodded in agreement as David went over the plan, which included everything from where and when they would arrive, to which restroom she could use.  “There’s an open seat next to you in the concert portion of the evening.  I recommend that a member of your security team be seated with you the entire time.  The rest of the team will have the entrances and exits.”

 

“Do I have a say in this?”  Julia asked.

 

Julia noticed David tense instantly.  He pulled the paper back, straightened up, and took a few steps away.  His face clouded over.

 

Realization dawned on Julia.  “No.  No, that’s not what I meant.”  _Shit_.  She had fucked up, sounding like her typical horrid self.  “I just meant, if I get a date, can I choose which one of you it is?  I don’t often get to do that.  Go on dates, or choose the company I keep.”  She was floundering.  She tried to smile, afraid of his reaction.

 

David breathed a sigh of relief and relaxed slightly.  “Of course, ma’am.  I don’t see why not.”

 

Julia hesitated.  Should she do this?  She could make a speech in Parliament on one of the most controversial proposals of the year, she could give an interview on live television (wearing someone else’s shirt, no less!), but she was afraid to say what she wanted. 

 

_Go big or go home._

 

“You.  Would you be my date?”

 


	6. The "Date"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'll apologize in advance - this is a long chapter! I didn't want to break it up, though. I hope you all like it! 
> 
> At some point, I'm going to add another work in the series and give David's point of view on everything that's happening!

The silence was deafening. 

 

Julia was mortified.  She wanted to sink into the carpet or disappear out of her living room.  Had she misread his feelings?  Was the idea of being her “date” that appalling to him?  It wasn’t even a real date, dammit!  They were just going to sit next to each other, unwillingly and unintentionally!  She shouldn’t have joked about it being a date.  Every horrible thing that Roger had said to her while they were married (and while they were divorcing, and since the divorce…) started coming back to her.  She was hideous, self-absorbed, robotic, unwomanly, insensitive, lifeless in bed…  She could feel the shame start to creep into her face.  And then she heard his voice.

 

“I would be honored, ma’am, but you must forgive me.”

 

What was it about a “but” in a sentence?  Oh right, everything before the _but_ was insignificant; it was what was said _after_ the but that mattered.  _Honored, bullshit._   The same uncertainty and insecurity she had seen before was back in his eyes.

 

“I haven’t brought you flowers.”

 

Julia’s jaw dropped.  _What?_

 

“I’m a bit out of practice, but a gentleman should bring his lady flowers if he’s taking her out on a date.  I haven’t brought you flowers; I don’t deserve to be your date.”

 

It appeared as though he was serious.  Where was this man from?  What level of chivalry did he practice?

 

His voice dropped.  “Not that there are any flowers as beautiful as you.”

 

_Is he flirting with me?  Seriously flirting with me?  Is he for real?!_

 

Could she trust her voice to say something?  She cleared her throat.

 

“All is forgiven.  I haven’t had a date bring me flowers in years and you have a gun; that makes you a bit more impressive than any other man I’ve ever been with.”  She tried to laugh it off.

 

_Christ, did I really just say that?_

 

“Then none of those men deserved you.”

 

_Is this really happening?_

 

If it was possible for her jaw to drop even more than it already had, Julia’s jaw would’ve dropped through the floor by now.  She was shocked.

 

“And what kind of man does deserve me?”

 

_Fuck._ Julia heard her voice ask the question that she had intended to keep in her head.

 

“One who will cherish you for who you are, instead of for who you can make them become.”  There was passion in his voice, conviction.  “One who isn’t afraid to challenge you and your ideas.  One who sees the real woman behind the power, but knows that the power is part of what makes you who you are and respects that.”

 

Julia stared at David.  _And you?  Are you that kind of man?  You barely know me.  No one who knows me thinks any of that._

 

“I’ve offended you.”  The confidence dropped out of his voice.  That look was back in his eyes, the one with the mix of uncertainty and insecurity.

 

She wanted to tell him that this was the sweetest, most flattering thing a man had ever said to her.  It wasn’t he who offended her; it was all the other men.  He was completely correct.  Roger had wanted her for her power, for what she could do for him, for how she could advance _his_ career.  Their marriage fell apart when it became clear that she would outshine him, though he could have predicted it from the start.  Rob was afraid to contradict her and would do anything to please her; he didn’t have one independent thought of his own.  Other men had been some variation of the above: insisting that she be more _feminine_ , less assertive, less forceful; refusing to see that she had feelings, emotions, _needs._   That sometimes she just ached to be touched in a way that made her feel like a woman and not a scummy barrister and politician.  To be told that her body was pleasing to look at, to feel, to love.

 

David turned and looked to the window.  He cleared his throat.  “Ma’am, the car will be here any minute.”  His voice was suddenly cold.  Julia could see the tightness of the tuxedo pulled across his shoulders again.

 

“Sergeant Budd?”  She took a few steps toward him.  She tentatively extended her right hand to him, touching him gently on the arm. 

 

In politics, she was never speechless, never shy, never afraid, but now she didn’t know what to say.  She was too embarrassed to tell him how right he was, or to let on to the negative emotions and memories it stirred in her.  Summoning all of her willpower and courage, she started to speak.

 

“No offense taken.  You’re a gentleman and any woman would be lucky to have you.”   _I would be lucky to have you_.  She gathered courage as she spoke, trying to sound like her confident self.  “After a speech like that, I’ll assume the intent to bring me flowers was there and forgive you since you were not advised of the so-called date until after you got here.  So, I’ll ask you again, would you be my date?  I’m not going to easily take no for an answer.  I want you by my side, even if it is just your job.  I believe you’re stuck with me.” 

 

She lifted her hand from his arm.  He turned to face her.  She tilted her head and smiled cautiously, a question in her eyes.

 

“Aye, ma’am.  If you’re willing to excuse the lack of flowers, then I’ll sit with you… be your date.”  The start of a cautious smile formed on his face, but Julia was still concerned by the uncertainty and insecurity in his eyes.  She didn’t like seeing that there and wanted desperately to make it go away. 

 

_Be nice, Julia.  He was flirting and you failed to respond.  Say something good._

 

“It will be the highlight of my evening, I’m sure.”

 

If only he knew how true that was, and how much she wished this could be a real date.  How much she wanted to get to know him.  Physically, yes, to have their bodies touch; to know the feel of him on her, _in_ her; to figure out what he liked, the best way to pleasure him.  But also to know his character, what made him tick, what made him so caring.  To know what put that uncertainty and insecurity in his eyes… and to be the one to make it go away, to convince him that he was worthy… worthy of _everything_.

 

* * *

 

 

[Ninety minutes later.]

 

The gala was in full swing.  There were drinks and delicious hors d’oeuvres on the terrace, and a buffet line in the foyer of the mansion.  The crisp fall evening was beautiful; it was still comfortable enough to enjoy being outside.  There were a few hundred people milling about in support of a good cause and virtually no one from Julia’s political life was present.  With all of the security precautions in place, David felt it was safe enough for her to mingle with the crowd alone, while he and the other protection officers stayed on the perimeter; he would join her in the ballroom for the concert afterwards.

 

Julia was enjoying herself, talking to human rights advocates and doctors who had served in refugee camps.  Politically this may not be the place that people would expect to find her, but Julia went into politics to help people and always had a passion for human rights. 

 

Julia was about to get herself another drink from the bar on the terrace when an older man came up to her and grabbed her arm.  She hadn’t seen him coming.  He held her arm with surprising strength, his nails digging into her skin while his other hand skated over the buttons on the back of her dress, coming to rest on her the exposed skin of her upper back. 

 

“I’ve been watching you.  You’ve been alone all evening.  A woman with looks like yours, showing off this much skin,” he rubbed his hand along her back as he said this, “can’t possibly be single.  It’s my lucky day if you are.”

 

Julia squirmed and tried to pull away.  She was surrounded by people, bodies pressing closer to get to the bar, but no one seemed to hear him or notice how he was touching her.

 

“Get your hands off me.”

 

“You’re a feisty one.  Even better.  Sex will be so much more fun.  Come home with me.”  The hand on her back dropped to her ass and squeezed it, pulling her flush to his body.  He ground his hips against her.

 

She tried to pull away again and succeeded.  As soon as she was free of him, she quickly turned and went to find the restroom inside.  She didn’t want to cause a scene, but she needed to get away.  Why did men think they could act like this?  That this was appropriate?  And how could no one around her see it?  Why did no one help her if they did see it?

 

Julia spent only a few minutes in the restroom, trying to get her breathing under control.  The bathroom set aside for her was in a more secluded area of the mansion and it was for her use only.  No one was around as she exited… or so she thought.  After taking a few steps down the hallway, she felt hands on her again, more forceful than they had been outside.

 

“Did you think you could get away from me that easily?  Or were you just looking for a private place so we could fuck here?”

 

_Shit._   He was back.  Julia felt herself being pushed toward the wall.  She was about to scream when she heard footsteps pounding down the hallway.  The man was pulled off her and thrown to the ground.  David and two other officers stood over him, weapons drawn.

 

Julia stared down at the man, now cringing on the floor.  She wanted to cry, but laughed instead.  “You thought I was here alone.  My date has a gun.  You probably shouldn’t fuck with him.  And you definitely aren’t going to fuck me.”

 

The other two officers picked up the man and proceeded to arrest him.  Julia just watched, her back still against the wall.  Despite her courageous outburst, she was shaking.  David supervised the entire scene, anger raging in his eyes.

 

When the officers and the man were gone, David looked at Julia.  The anger in his eyes was replaced with fear and concern.  He took a few steps closer to her.

 

“Ma’am?”  Another few steps.  She hadn’t moved.  “Are you alright?”  He looked down at her arms, where he had seen the man grabbing her.  He hesitated, then reached out his hands and ran his fingers over her arms, his eyes following the movement of his hands as they examined her, caressed her.

 

Julia watched his hands and shivered under his touch, but the goosebumps breaking out on her skin were not because she was cold. 

 

“Did he hurt you?”  David looked up at Julia’s face when she remained silent.  “Ma’am?”

 

Julia swallowed with difficulty.  She could hear fear in his voice.  “No.  I’m fine.  Just a bit… distracted.”  _Not just by the man, but by you.  And your hands._   His fingers now rested gently on her the tops of her hands, where they had stopped after running up and down her arms several times.

 

“I’m sorry I wasn’t here sooner.  This shouldn’t have happened.”  There it was, the uncertainty and insecurity back in his eyes.

 

Julia turned her hands over and took David’s, giving them a gentle squeeze.  She wasn’t sure if the squeeze was for her benefit or his.  “No, everything is fine.  You told me that I should take an officer with me to the loo and I didn’t.  I wasn’t thinking.  I forgot.  I was just trying to get away from him outside.  I forgot.  It’s not your fault.”

 

“Outside?”  David practically growled.  “He did this to you outside, too?”

 

Julia nodded.  “At the bar.  He grabbed me.  That’s why I came inside.”

 

David pulled away from her and turned.  “I’m sorry, ma’am.  You are fully justified in reporting our failure to protect you.”

 

“No!  No one saw.  I was in a crowd at the bar.  No one next to me even noticed.  It would’ve been impossible for you to see it.  You couldn’t have known…” Julia started shaking her head fervently.  “It’s not your fault!  And you stopped him now, that’s what matters.”

 

Julia laughed with sincerity, not just to diffuse the tension.  “I told you that you’re more impressive than all the men who never brought me flowers!”

 

David turned and looked her straight in the eye, whispering, “Ma’am, if you could only know how I feel right now…” 

 

“Don’t worry, Sergeant.  There’s nothing wrong.”  Julia was determined to be strong, to put this past her, for _him_.  He seemed more upset by what happened than she was.  “I have no intention of reporting a security failure because there wasn’t one and I have every intention of enjoying the rest of my evening.  You’re stuck with me, whether you like it or not.  We should get back to the party.”

 

Julia started down the hallway and patted David on the shoulder as she passed him, giving him a reassuring smile.  She felt safe with David, and in spite the incident with the man, was very much looking forward to her “date.”

 

When they reached the foyer, David stopped her.  “Ma’am, if you don’t mind, I’d like to stay with you for the rest of cocktail hour, rather than let you be on your own.  I couldn’t….”  David’s voice trailed off.  His eyes were sad, devastatingly sad.  She could see how much the man had affected him, and it hurt her.  She wanted to comfort him, which was an impulse she rarely had in her life.

 

“I’d like that.”  _I’d like that very much indeed, and not just to prevent more creeps._  

 

Julia started walking past the buffet and toward the terrace.  She looked at David over her shoulder.  “Have you eaten?”

 

“No, ma’am.  Not while on duty.”

 

“Honestly, PS Budd.  That’s ridiculous.  You must eat something.  How can you protect me if you’re starving?”

 

“Ma’am…”  David looked at her with exasperation.  _Good, I’ll take exasperation over fear, uncertainty, insecurity, all those looks that I can’t bear to see in his eyes._

 

Julia grabbed a plate from the buffet table and started putting food on it.  “For the love of God, eat,” she said, shoving the plate into his hands.  Anything to distract him from what had happened with the man.  “I said eat!”

 

David gave in, but not before giving her another exasperated look.  They backed into a corner to get away from the crowd while he ate.  He was now her captive audience.  _Think, Julia.  Talk to him.  Get to know him._

 

“Do you like opera?”

 

David finished chewing, a questioning look in his eyes.  “Opera, ma’am?” 

 

“Yes, opera.”  Julia rolled her eyes.  It was her turn to give him an exasperated look.  _Wow, what a stimulating conversation…_

 

“No.  It’s not my preferred musical selection.”

 

“Hmm.  You’re not in for much of a treat then.”

 

David swallowed another bite of food.  “Ma’am?”

 

“The concert?”  Julia gestured in the direction of the ballroom.  “It’s opera.”

 

“Oh.”

 

David looked so crestfallen at that news that Julia couldn’t help but burst out laughing.  No one made her laugh like that.  “You really don’t like opera, do you?”

 

“Not really, ma’am.”

 

Julia kept laughing, shaking her head.  She looked down at her shoes, then glanced up at David through her eyelashes.  She ran her hand through her curls.  “Sergeant Budd, what am I going to do with you?”  She blushed.   _What **wouldn’t** I do with you?_

Eventually David chuckled.  “I don’t know ma’am.  You could’ve picked any other member of your team as your date, but you picked me.  I would’ve declined had I known what it entailed.”  His voice took on a teasing tone, one she hadn’t heard before, but one that she really liked.

 

“You would not!”  Julia looked him straight in the eye, daring him to contradict her.

 

“Would to.”  David’s eyes were full of fire, full of life, full of… desire.

 

“You’re a horrible liar, Sergeant.  I don’t believe you!”  Julia looked at him smugly.  This was as close as she dared get to calling him out on the look in his eyes.

 

David shrugged his shoulders.  “Busted.”

 

Julia laughed again.  “Come with me.  I’m getting a drink before it starts.”

 

“Yes, ma’am.” 

 

David dutifully followed Julia, two steps behind as always, but as they got closer to the bar and the crowd grew tighter, David moved closer.  “Ma’am,” he said, as he placed his hand on her lower back, guiding her, protecting her. 

 

Julia relaxed into David’s hand.  She truly hoped he would keep it there, which he did, even while they stood at the bar waiting for her glass of wine.  Julia desperately tried to figure out how to move away from the bar and back inside without breaking contact, but she couldn’t. 

 

Instead, Julia leaned onto the bar, holding her glass of wine.  She was so comfortable.  She felt so human.  David’s body was _almost_ pressed up to her right side because of how crowded it was; everyone wanted one last drink.  His left hand was still at the small of her back.  It felt so right, and it made her crave so much more.  They stayed that way, with his hand on her back, not talking, not looking at each other, for what seemed like five minutes.  She didn’t want it to end.  The crowd started to thin; the concert was about to start, but neither of them were aware of it.  Julia glanced at David.  He was looking straight ahead, out over the bar, into the open field past the terrace.  He seemed preoccupied.  He glanced at Julia and their eyes met.  Whatever concerned him quickly disappeared.

 

“We should go in, ma’am, and find out how much I actually enjoy opera.”  

 

Julia laughed.  When had she laughed so much recently?  “You might be surprised, PS Budd.”  She gave him a challenging look.

 

David took a deep breath.  “I already am,” he whispered, without breaking eye contact.  He slowly drifted his thumb up and down over the small of her back.  “Pleasantly surprised.”

 

For Julia, everything and everyone else disappeared.  It was just the two of them, lost in yet another moment together.  She had no idea how long they stood there like that.

 

Suddenly the bartender coughed, making both of them jump and David removed his hand from her back.  They looked around.  The terrace had cleared out.

 

“We should go in,” Julia whispered, but it came out more like a question.

 

“We should.”

 

“You should kiss her already and get a bloody room,” muttered the bartender under his breath.  It was just barely audible, but Julia and David both heard it.  They turned and stared at him, dumbfounded and speechless. 

 

Determined to act as though she hadn’t heard him (or agreed with him!) Julia threw back the rest of her wine, set the glass on the bar top, and quickly took a few steps away from the bar, and away from David.  She pulled herself together and proceeded inside, not even stopping to see if David was following her.  She could feel the heat rushing to her face and knew she must be bright red.  

 

Julia didn’t look at David again until they were seated.  She heard him say something into his earpiece as the lights dimmed.  She took a moment to glance at him in the darkened room.  Ever the professional, nothing giving him away again.  What was he really thinking?  What did he really feel?  And more importantly, why did she feel the way she felt?  What exactly did she feel?

 

Before she had time to think on it further, the concert began.  Julia truly loved opera.  Music and languages had been a passion of hers since childhood and she had made it a point to learn many of the lyrics of the most famous arias, as well as their meanings. 

 

David leaned over to her and whispered in her ear.  “Do you understand any of this?”

 

Julia laughed yet again.  Her French was perfect, though it wouldn’t be much use tonight; her Italian was passable, but her Latin was a bit rusty at this point in her life.  Still, she felt confident that she would understand most it.

 

“For the most part.”

 

“Does everyone here understand it?”

 

Another laugh.  Julia shook her head.  “No.  But just listen.  What you don’t understand, try to feel.”

 

She could see the bewilderment on his face and laughed.  “Sergeant, you will be a more cultured man by the end of the evening.”  She saw him shake his head in response and look forward again.  Still laughing, Julia relaxed back into her seat.

 

Song after song, Julia sat enthralled.  The passion, the beauty, the heartache.  Opera always got to her.  Without realizing it, tears started to fall down her face.  She hoped no one could see her raise her hand to her face and wipe away the tears, but as soon as she placed her hand back in her lap, David’s hand was on hers.  Warm, strong, gentle.  She slipped her fingers between his and gave his hand a squeeze.  He squeezed back.  His hand was still there when the concert ended and the lights came on.

 

Julia smiled as she looked down at their interlocked hands, then looked up at David’s face.  A tear was rolling down his cheek.  Before she could stop herself, she lifted her other hand and brought it to David’s face.  She hesitated, then wiped away the tear for him.

 

“See?  You felt it, too.”

 

“Aye, ma’am.”  His voice was no more than a whisper.  “It would be hard not to feel it.”

 

Was he talking about the music or whatever this was between them?

 

The movement of people standing up and walking out around them broke them from their reverie.  The gala was over.

 

“Home, ma’am?”

 

Julia smiled sadly.  She didn’t want this night to end.  “We don’t really have another option, do we?”

 

David shook his head.  The sadness in his face mirrored her own.  He summoned the cars and they left.  They rode in silence.  Whenever their glances met in the rearview mirror, they both quickly averted their gaze. 

 

The silence continued as they entered her flat and David did his security sweep. 

 

“All clear, ma’am.”  David moved as though to leave.

 

“Thank you.”  Julia nodded her head at him.  “Did you have a good evening?”  She had to say something.  She couldn’t let him leave like this, not after the night they had.

 

“Very good, ma’am.  Thank you.”  He was back to being formal.

 

“Opera didn’t kill you?”  Julia tried to laugh.  She wanted whatever they had to come back before he left.  It seemed to work.

 

“No, ma’am.”  The corners of David’s mouth lifted into a small smile.  “I’m still alive.”

 

“Good.”  She decided to push her luck.  “So it wasn’t a bad date?”   _I wasn’t a bad date?_

David opened his mouth as if to say something, then closed it again.  _Please.  Please._   Finally, he relaxed.  As if sensing her need for affirmation of herself and not just the “date,” he responded.  “No, it wasn’t.  It was wonderful… _You_ were wonderful.”

 

 “Thank you.  You weren’t so bad yourself.”  She smiled.  Was it so wrong to want him?  She was falling for him, fast and hard, and it was quickly turning into more than a physical longing.  She raised her face and they stared at each, the air electric between them.  She didn’t want him to leave. 

 

_Just do it._  

 

“Care for a drink before you leave?  If you’re not tired?”

 

“The backup vehicle is waiting for me.” 

 

David looked down at his feet, then back up at Julia’s face, which was miraculously devoid of any emotion.  David spoke again.  “I just need to let them know I don’t need them.  I’m not working tomorrow, so I don’t need to go back to the station tonight.  I can be officially off duty now and take a cab home.”

 

_Holy fuck.  Did he just say yes?_


	7. Distractions

Julia tried not to have her face reflect the shock that she felt. She felt frozen to her spot while David contacted the backup vehicle.

Was she insane? Did she just ask her PPO to stay, after hours, at her flat, for a drink? This was not appropriate! What good could come of this? She may want to do anything and everything with him, but it was all off limits! She couldn’t do anything with him! She tried to compare this to having Rob over and sharing a bottle of wine while they worked, but David wasn’t Rob. She didn’t want to tear off Rob’s clothes. She didn’t want to see Rob naked. She didn’t want Rob to touch her. But the things she wanted David to do to her… and that she wanted to do him…. Having him here, alone, after hours, with alcohol, was a recipe for…

The sound of David clearing his throat brought Julia’s thoughts crashing back down into reality. How to handle this, yes that is indeed the question.

Julia strode over to the kitchen to put some distance between her and David and pulled a mostly-empty bottle of white wine out of the fridge. She emptied its contents into a glass for herself and took a giant sip. David had followed her, but stayed out of arms’ reach.

“What’s your drink of choice? Wine, beer, whiskey? I have quite the selection.” She gestured off to where the bar was, which was fairly well stocked. She tried to sound at ease; luckily her training as a barrister and her career in politics made her adept at it.

“Whiskey, please, ma’am, if it’s not too much trouble.” 

Julia was about to pour him a glass when he stopped her.

“No, no, just a beer. I’m sorry, ma’am. Probably best not to have anything too strong right now.”

Interesting. Was he worried about what might happen if they had a little too much liquid courage? Was that a good thing, or a bad thing?

Bringing him his drink required getting into very close proximity of his dangerously attractive body. Which reminded her of how close they had actually been throughout the evening. Too close, she thought. Definitely not appropriate. Trying to remain calm, she handed the beer to him and then walked quickly into the living room. “If you change your mind and want the whiskey, feel free.” She set her glass down on the coffee table, but she remained standing.

“Do you prefer David or Dave?”

“I answer to both, ma’am.”

Julia nodded.

“Make yourself comfortable, then, David. I’ll be right back.” Julia needed a moment to collect herself and come up with a game plan. She took her purse and coat with her, hoping that David would assume she was simply putting away her things… and not that she was panicking. 

From the safety of her bedroom, Julia tried to think. Then she heard David’s voice. Startled, she turned around, but he wasn’t there. It still sounded like he was talking, though. Curious, Julia went back into the hallway. David was on the phone. 

“I’m sorry, love, I’m still working…. No, I didn’t see your call before… I couldn’t, I was working.…What’s wrong?... Of course…. Hello, big man. Can’t sleep?... I miss you, too… No, I’ll see you tomorrow… No, I can’t come home right now…Love you.”

What?

“Vic, no… Really! No, I’ll be home tomorrow…. Please…. Goodnight, love.”

The dossier she had been emailed was wrong. This was not the conversation of a man who was separated from his wife. This was the conversation of a man whose family wanted him home. How dare the bastard agree to stay with her rather than go home to his wife and kids. And to lead her on all evening – the looks, the comments, the touches. Whether they were appropriate for a principal and her PPO was an entirely different matter from whether they were cheating on his wife.

Julia heard David put the phone away. She was fuming as she walked back into the living room.

“Sergeant.” Not David, not Dave, not even his last name. Her voice was like ice. It wasn’t her normal courtroom/Parliament voice; it was worse. It was the voice that was reserved for particularly egregious legal or political confrontations. A voice that could slice her opponent into pieces. “Is there a Mrs. Budd?”

David’s face only showed confusion. “Yes, ma’am. Vicky. We have two children.”

“What are their names?”

“Ella and Charlie.”

There wasn’t even a shred of remorse in David’s voice as he said this. The fucking bastard. Was he that accustomed to cheating that it didn’t even bother him when someone found out?

“Your schedule must make home life difficult.”

David was silent, confusion still written all over his face. Julia simply stared at him, waiting for a response.

“You’d know, ma’am, with all these hours you work.”

Julia scoffed. But I don’t have a family waiting for me. 

The silence was broken by the ringing of a cell phone. David took the phone out of his pocket and looked at it.

“Excuse me, ma’am, but I need to take this.” Without waiting for permission, he answered the call. “Vic, I told you, I’m working. I’ll be home tomorrow.” His voice was strained, then instantly changed. It became gentle and caring. “Charlie? How’d you get the phone?... Did she tell you a bedtime story?... That’s a good one! Where’s Ella?... Alright, how about you go to sleep and I’ll see you in the morning?... I promise! Good night, big man. Love you.”

David looked up at Julia as he put his phone away. Her eyes shone with anger, and a hint of betrayal. She had enjoyed their “date.” She thought he was separated. She was so sure that David’s feelings were real and that she wasn’t imaging them. She had felt womanly and beautiful and powerful and seductive and desired… things she hadn’t felt in far too long. And now it was all being destroyed because the fucking bastard was actually in a committed relationship.

All of a sudden, Julia saw realization dawn on David’s face. “The phone call with my wife?”

“Yes. It sounds like you’re wanted at home, Sergeant. I’m keeping you.” 

“No.” David shook his head and took a few steps toward Julia. The audacity of this man, still pursuing her even after being caught! He stopped. “No. We’re separated. We’ve been separated,” David sighed, “for over two years. That isn’t home.”

Julia stayed silent.

“I should go.” He nodded his head to her and turned. “Have a good night, ma’am.”

As he reached the door, Julia called out to him. “I misunderstood?” The ice in Julia’s voice had all but disappeared. She wanted to believe him, but she didn’t want to make a fool of herself again. How easy it would be for him to lie to her, just to convince her that everything was fine. They were already toeing the line of inappropriate behavior; this could mean nothing to him, cheating on his wife could mean nothing to him.

“Yes, ma’am.” He didn’t even turn to look at her as he said it. 

She couldn’t let him leave. She had been an ass to him, again. “I made the mistake of judging by my own standards. By the end of my marriage, we were barely capable of speaking to each other. You sounded…” You said love.

“Don’t worry, we have our moments, but we try to put the kids first.” David finally turned and looked back at Julia. “Goodnight, ma’am.”

“No… David. I’m sorry. You don’t have to go, unless you prefer to?”

Before David could answer, his phone rang again. “I’m sorry, ma’am.” He answered the phone in hushed tones, which prevented Julia from hearing most of the conversation. Three phone calls in such a short period of time. Was this normal? Julia had no idea, but she assumed it wasn’t. 

“David?” She wasn’t sure what to say when he disconnected the call, but it somehow felt wrong to stay out of it. If he wanted privacy, he didn’t have to take the last two calls in front of her. “Is something wrong?”

David stood silently, not moving, not even looking at her.

“Come back. Sit down. Is there anything I can do?”

David shook his head slowly. For someone who looked strong all day, every day, he looked defeated now. He walked back to the couch and sat down, elbows resting on his knees, head between his hands, eyes glued to the carpet under his feet. Julia stood by the other couch.

“Charlie can’t sleep, ma’am. He has nightmares. He was with me, they both were with me. On the train. We were coming back from Glasgow; I had taken them to see my mum for the weekend. They were asleep. I left them with the woman across the aisle. She took care of them, got them off the train. They didn’t know where I was. Even after the arrest was made and it was safe, it took too long to get back to them. I had to make a statement, stay with the other officers. Everything I taught them about not talking to strangers, not going with strangers, and I leave my kids alone with a fucking stranger while I try to prevent a fucking bomb from going off.” Not once did he look up at her while he said this. She could hear his voice crack at that last part. “I left my kids with a stranger while I tried to stop a terrorist attack. I might never have seen them again, never have held them again. If I failed, they would have died. My own children. And I wouldn’t have been with them. I could’ve been, but I wasn’t. They would’ve died with a stranger. And now Charlie has nightmares. When he wakes up, I’m not there. I’m never there. Just like on the train. Just like when he was born. So he likes to call me when he can’t sleep. To know that we’re okay.” David took a deep breath. “Sometimes I don’t know what to tell him.”

Shit. None of the reports mentioned that his kids had been with him. She couldn’t even begin to imagine how that felt. Her heart broke for the little boy… and for the hero who had to deal with the consequences every day.

Julia didn’t even think as she walked to David’s side. She put her hand on his shoulder, but David still stared at the carpet. “David?” Silence. Taking a deep breath, she sat next to him. Her left leg touched his right, her left shoulder leaned into his right shoulder. “David, please, look at me.” Nothing. Julia took her right hand and brushed her fingertips across his hands, where they held his face. Feeling no response, she wrapped her left arm around his back and moved her right to rest on his knee, next to his elbow. Julia felt a tear fall onto her right hand and suddenly David’s body shook with silent sobs. Julia held him tighter.

“You’re safe. He’s safe,” she whispered. “No one’s going to hurt him.”

Julia had no idea how much time passed as David cried in her arms. His body finally stopped shuddering as his tears slowed. She could feel him take a few deeps breaths, trying to calm himself.

“Ma’am, forgive me.” His head was still in his hands, looking toward the carpet. “I should leave. My behavior has been inappropriate.” He moved as if to stand, but Julia refused to let him go.

“David, no. There’s nothing to forgive. I had no idea. The reports, I’m sorry, but they didn’t say your children were there. If you need time to be with them…”

“I don’t need time, ma’am. I need my family to be okay,” David replied rather gruffly. He tried to stand again, but Julia held him down.

“David, look at me.” Her voice gave out, and David finally turned to her. The sadness in his eyes… She wanted to take away his pain, but didn’t know how to do it. Julia raised her hand from his knee and gently brushed away his last few tears with her fingertips, while her left arm still encircled his back. “Tell me about Charlie? And Ella? I would love to know more about them.”

David took a deep breath and then another, his body still shaking as he exhaled slowly each time. “Of course, ma’am. Charlie’s eight. Ella’s ten.” He kept talking, sounding less upset and more confident as he continued. Eventually the despair in his eyes started to disappear. Julia smiled. There was nothing more apparent to her than that this man loved his children.

“Do you have a picture of them?” 

David finally smiled back. “Just one?” 

Julia shook her head. “As many as you want.”

David shifted away from Julia so he could get his phone out of his pocket. Julia dropped her arm from his back, but only out of necessity. She would gladly have kept it there if she could have and she instantly missed the warmth of his body pressed against hers. 

Julia watched as David looked through his phone, his smile growing. “Here.” He leaned back towards her, their bodies touching again. “There they are with my mum last weekend.” It was a picture of two smiling children eating ice cream cones with an older woman. They were in the kitchen of someone’s house and she could see pictures of them and David framed on the counter and children’s drawings on the refrigerator. “The ice cream didn’t last long.” David scrolled to the next photo, which zoomed in on Charlie. There was chocolate ice cream all over his face and down his shirt, but he was still smiling like a clown.

Julia laughed. “They’re adorable!”

“They’re a mess!” The next picture showed the older woman on her knees trying to clean Charlie’s face, but he was laughing and resisting as much as he could. Ella wasn’t doing much better, for she now had chocolate ice cream all over her face and shirt, but instead of finding it funny, she was upset. The final picture had Charlie kissing his grandmother with his face still covered in ice cream.

“Oh, God, David!” Julia couldn’t stop laughing and she relaxed against the back of the couch, still laughing. “Your poor mum!” The laughter was contagious. David laughed and leaned back also, draping his right arm across the couch behind her, but only just barely touching her back.

“Honestly, I’m not sure it phased her. She’s a giant child and she loves her grandkids; she’ll let them get away with anything.”

“Show me more! Some of you with them this time.” Julia leaned forward, grabbed her wine glass from the table, and took a few sips.

“Oh no, not those. You don’t want to see those.”

“Of course I do! A few selfies of PS Budd and his children? Absolutely!” She hesitated for a second, then leaned back into David and his outstretched arm. 

David adjusted his arm so it fit comfortably around her back on the couch. He rested his fingers gently on her bare shoulder; she was still in the dress from the gala, after all. The feel of his fingers on her skin made her shiver. Her heart started to race.

“You’re cold.” 

“Don’t change the topic. The pictures of you and the kids?” Julia tried to pull a serious face, but she couldn’t.

David started to rub his hand over her shoulder, as if to warm her. Little did he know how well it was working; Julia felt heat rush deep down to her core. She ached to be touched there, by him.

“Do you want my jacket?” 

“Stop trying to distract me!”

“I’m not trying. I’m pretty sure it’s working.” 

If only he knew…

Julia pulled away from the tantalizing touch of David’s hand and turned to face him. “I said I want to see the pictures.”

“And I said you’re cold.” David smirked at her, stood up, and took off his jacket. “I’m going to use your restroom, ma’am. Here’s my jacket if you’d like to be warm.”

“David, in case you forgot, this is my house. I have my own clothes I can wear if I’m cold.”

“True, but you struggled to get into that dress. How hard is it to get you out?” 

With that, David stood up and walked away to the bathroom, leaving Julia on the couch starting back at him in complete and utter shock. David turned back to her with one last comment. “Though I must say, ma’am, I’m fairly certain I’m up to the challenge.”

It took every last ounce of strength Julia had not to follow David down the hallway, push him against the wall, and… No, stop that. Calm down.

Julia was still glued to her seat on the couch when David returned. His jacket lay disregarded off to the side. Julia glanced up at him. “The pictures, David?”

“You’re relentless,” laughed David as he sat back on the couch next to her. “Why? I never thought anyone other than myself would be so interested in my selfies with the children.” He stared into her eyes, as if trying to determine why she cared. Before she realized what was happening, he brought a hand up to her face and brushed a stray curl away from her eye. His hand lingered next to her ear and then dropped to the back of the couch again, skirting gently over her bare shoulder.

“Because it’s you,” she whispered. “They’re yours. I want to know all about you.”

David started caressing her shoulder with his hand. Their eyes were still locked and David’s were getting darker and darker with desire. She could feel the heat rising in her face… and in other parts of her body.

“But you’re distracting me.” Her eyes dropped to his lips. Her breath caught in her throat. She quickly brought her eyes back up to his, hoping he hadn’t noticed.

“As much as you want to see the pictures, ma’am,” David dropped his eyes to her lips, “I get the feeling we would enjoy the distraction even more.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Where do they go from here?


	8. Giving In

Julia wanted nothing more than to give in to David’s proposal, but a thousand thoughts were fighting for time in her head. 

 

She had to admit that she was extremely turned on by David’s forwardness, but she didn’t want to give him the upper hand too quickly.  _Too quickly?_ The fact that she considered the idea of giving him the upper hand startled her.  She was always in charge, even in _(especially in?)_ the bedroom, but for once, she liked the idea of this particular someone taking the lead. 

 

The fact that she honestly wanted to see David’s selfies with his children also intrigued her.  Since divorcing Roger, she had only casually dated, and rarely.  She didn’t usually spend more time getting to know a man than it took to determine whether she wanted to sleep with him (most failed that test) and the extremely rare few she slept with had only been to satisfy her carnal desires and not because she felt anything with the man on a more emotional or personal level; in fact, she hardly knew anything about their personal lives.  David had bared more of himself to her in their “date” than any man she had seen otherwise bare in the last five years.  And yet she still wanted to see more, to know more – not of his body (hell, who was she kidding, she wanted to see and know that, too) – about what made him who he was.

 

Then there was the obvious problem that they were… colleagues? boss and subordinate?  Their closeness all evening seriously toed the line of inappropriate behavior.  More than once throughout their “date,” Julia had thought of what it would be like to be kissed by him, but thoughts and actions were two very different things.  The feel of his fingers caressing her only increased the intensity of her thoughts on them kissing, the comment about taking off her dress made her wet; she was still wet now.  If she caved to David’s “distraction,” all bets were off.  If she had it her way, they wouldn’t be able to stop; they would go _all_ the way, and preferably all night.  Panting _his name_ as he skillfully worked her through orgasm after orgasm, hearing _her name_ on his lips as she felt him come inside of her...  _My name?  He’s never said my name._

 

“It would be more distracting if you called me Julia.”  Her voice was barely more than a whisper; she didn’t realize it had been audible until David reacted.

 

“Julia,” he breathed.  _Oh_ , the way he said it while looking at her lips, reverent as though he worshipped her.

 

His eyes moved up from her lips to meet her eyes.  “Julia.”  He raised the hand that was on her shoulder to her cheek, stroking his thumb across it so delicately that Julia closed her eyes and inhaled deeply.  His thumb ran up over her ear, then down her jaw line, coming to rest gently under her chin.  “Julia.”

 

When she felt him start to run his finger over her lips, she opened her mouth and took the tip of it between her teeth, drawing a moan from David.  She sucked gently before releasing him, thinking about the other tip that she would love to suck.  David’s moans told her that he shared those thoughts.

 

“Please, David,” she begged.  “Distract me?”  In any other setting, with any other man, she would be embarrassed at how weak and desperate she sounded; never before had she begged.  But this was different.  She needed him: needed to be engulfed by him, consumed by him, devoured by him, worshipped by him.  For once, begging for this was not beneath her.  And beg she would.

 

David’s eyes burned with desire.  Before she knew what was happening, his lips were on hers.  They were gentle at first, like she was made of glass.  She closed her eyes, savoring the moment.  She wanted more, but David pulled back before she had time to deepen the kiss.  He tilted his head, as if to question whether he should continue.

 

“Please,” she begged again.

 

The second kiss wasn’t so gentle.  She could feel the desire she had seen in his eyes pouring out through his mouth as his lips met hers again.  One of his hands went to the back of her head, pulling her closer to him.  His other hand wrapped around her waist.  Everything else disappeared; nothing else existed except the feel of David holding her, touching her, kissing her… She gasped as he deepened the kiss, his tongue sensuously exploring the inside of her mouth, doing the tango with her own tongue.  She brought both of her hands to his face, stroking his cheeks, pulling on his hair.  She wanted to get closer, _needed_ to get closer.  She could feel the heat and the wetness pooling low inside her.  She needed _more._ She nibbled on his bottom lip.

_“_ David.”  Begging was certainly becoming her thing this evening.

 

“Patience, darling.  Good things come to those who wait.”  He whispered this against her ear and then started to place tiny kisses all the way down her neck, from her ear, along her jawline, over the top of her bare shoulder, intensifying them as her whimpers increased.  His hands dropped to her back and started to undo the first few buttons on her dress while his lips returned to the sensitive spot underneath her ear and started to suck.  “And don’t you worry.  You’ll be coming.  More than once.  But only if you’re patient.”  Frustrated, Julia moaned and tried to slide her lower half closer to him on the couch, but the way they were sitting was not conducive to it.

 

Sensing what Julia was after, David wrapped her in his arms and lay them both down on the couch, Julia flat on her back and David on top.  Julia pushed his torso up so that she could reach the buttons on his shirt as he straddled her.  “Fuck,” she gasped.  She could feel the long, hard, impressive length of _him_ against her thigh.  She shifted so that she could grind her hips up against his length while tearing ferociously at the buttons on his shirt.  It was a simple task, but she was all thumbs and she felt like it took forever.  When she undid the last button and tugged on his sleeves, it forced his hands, his strong, calloused, hands that were cupping her breasts through her dress, to lift off her so he could shrug out of the shirt and remove his bulletproof vest. 

 

Now free of his shirt and vest (though still wearing his undershirt), David lay his upper body over Julia’s, coming down to capture her mouth with his own again.  He traced his tongue over her teeth and sucked on her bottom lip, then went back to exploring her mouth.  She whimpered again, and raked her beautifully manicured nails over his back and up into his hair.  One of his hands still played with her breast, while the other snaked behind her, lower and lower until it grabbed her nicely rounded ass and squeezed.  She couldn’t help herself; she thrust her hips strongly up to David and ground against his cock.

 

“Fuck, Julia, you’re going to be the death of me.”

 

Spurred on by the encouragement, she kept grinding against him.  The hand that cupped her ass moved down thigh, trying to find a way inside her dress, or at least a way to some skin, but her dress was too long and there was no easy access.

 

“Julia,” he gasped.  “You’re an awful tease.  I love this dress, but next time,” he ground his hips against her, “could you please wear a dress with a slit in it so that I can get to you?”

 

Julia pulled him closer and caught his ear in her mouth.  _Oh sweet Jesus, there’s going to be a next time._ She released his ear and replied.  “You seem confident that there’s going to be a next time.”  She wanted to hear it again.

 

David pulled away and grinned mischievously.  Without saying a word, he lowered his head to the top of her shoulder and started feathering kisses lower and lower until he reached the neckline of her dress.  Without warning, he pulled on it and released her breasts.  She had forgotten he’d unbuttoned the top of the dress; nothing was holding it up anymore and thank god she wasn’t wearing a bra.  He cupped her right breast with his left hand, then rolled the nipple between his fingers until it puckered.  He took the left one in his mouth, sucking harder and harder.  Then he switched sides.

 

Julia closed her eyes and arched into him.  She could not stop moaning.  “David.  Oh god… _David_.  Don’t stop.”  She was in heaven.

 

As quickly as he attacked her breasts, he was off them.  No hand, no mouth, no fingers.  Nothing.  No contact.  Julia’s eyes opened in surprise and disappointment at his sudden disappearance.  She realized she was panting. 

 

“I said patience.”  David had a sly grin on his face, hovering his mouth inches above her skin.  He brought a finger to her face and traced around her jaw, then down her neck, into the valley between her breasts, back up over her left breast and onto the nipple.  Shivers ran all over Julia’s body.  The wetness between her thighs was more and more noticeable.  His touch was intoxicating.  “And yes, I’m pretty confident there’s going to be a next time.”  With that, his mouth attacked her other breast and again, just as quickly as he did it, he lifted off and grinned at her.  “Am I right?”

 

“Fuck, David.  Yes.  Please,” she panted.  She tried to ease her breathing, but failed.  “Friday?”  She could barely think, let alone form a coherent sentence.   “Are you… _fuck_ … _mmmm_ … are you working the dinner...”  She moaned as she felt him grind his cock against her core, far too many layers of clothing between them.  She needed to feel him between her thighs, skin on skin.  “The dinner Friday evening?”  There.  She finally finished her question, panting out the words.

 

David thrust his hips at her and cupped her breast, then pinched her nipple.  He grabbed the other nipple between his teeth and nibbled on it.  Releasing it, he asked, “Should I?”

 

What a tease.  “Yes, please.”  She moaned.  “I’ll wear…” He grabbed her ass again, lifting her hips up to his.  Another moan.  “I’ll wear whatever you want.”

 

“Then I’ll work Friday’s dinner,” he whispered into her neck, alternating between sucking and blowing on her sensitive skin.  “Wear a dress with a slit,” he reached his hand down and dragged his short nails up her thigh, as if caressing her bare skin between a slit in the dress, “and then we can play again.”

 

“Anything.”  She moaned again.  “Please, David.  I need you.  I need to feel you.”  Julia reached down and cupped David through his pants.

 

“Julia.”  He moaned.

 

One glance at David’s face and she knew he wanted this as much as she did, if not more.  She unbuckled his belt, unbuttoned his pants, and started to slide down his zipper, watching his eyes as he anticipated her reaching in and tugging his aching cock free. 

 

And then his phone rang.

 

They both jumped, startled by the intrusion of outside noise.

 

“Jesus.”  David reached for his phone where it had fallen on the floor and straightened up with it, still straddling Julia.  “It’s my wi…”  He shook his head and looked at Julia, embarrassment in his eyes over what he had almost said.  “It’s Vicky.  She’s not _my_ anything, not anymore.”

 

Julia scooted out from under David and leaned against the back of the couch, unsuccessfully pulling the top of her dress back up over her tender breasts.  As soon as she let go of the fabric, it fell back down.  She reached for David’s free hand and squeezed it.  “I know.  It’s okay.  Answer it.”  She nodded at him.

 

“Vic.”  David cradled the phone between his cheek and his shoulder as he leaned back on his heels and tried to zip and button his pants and refasten his belt.  “What’s wrong?”

 

Julia was close enough that she could hear most of Vicky’s side of the conversation.  It was almost 3:00 a.m.  Charlie hadn’t slept more than 30 minutes; he kept waking up, nightmare after nightmare.  It was his worst night so far since the train attack.  Vicky wanted “Dave,” not “David,” to talk to him again.

 

“Of course.  Put him on.” 

 

Julia wondered if Vicky could hear how breathless David was and if she recognized it as how he sounded when they made love, when she teased him, when he wanted her so badly that nothing else in the world existed.  With a twinge of sadness, she wondered exactly what Vicky used to do to turn David on, and how she, the sexless, cold-hearted bitch that was Julia Montague, compared.  Vicky was probably young and beautiful; Julia was ten years older than David.  A pang of jealousy hit her hard. 

 

David’s voice brought her back from the dangerous path her mind was taking. 

 

“It’s all right, big man.  It was just a bad dream.  I get those, too.”

 

She heard a little boy crying on the other end of the phone.  “I just want you here, Daddy.  I just want to be with you.  Mum says it’s okay for you to come over.”

 

David stared at the carpet between his feet at the edge of the couch.  Julia reached over and took his free hand, hoping to get his attention.  He looked up at her.  “Go,” she mouthed to him. 

 

“I’m sorry,” he mouthed back.  Julia shook her head at him and squeezed his hand again.

 

“Okay, Charlie.  I’m coming.  Give the phone back to your mum… Vic, I told him I’d come over.  Is that okay?”

 

“Oh, thank God, Dave,” was the response that Julia heard and then David ended the call.

 

David turned to Julia.  He raised his hand to Julia’s face, gently cupping her cheek.  “I’m sorry, Julia.”  He leaned in and kissed her lips.

 

Julia pulled back and leaned her forehead against his.  She tried not to sigh or otherwise show her disappointment.  “No need to be sorry, David.  Charlie needs you.”

 

David laughed and dropped his mouth to Julia’s, hovering before making contact.  “And I need you,” whispered.  She didn’t doubt it for an instant.  He kissed her again, pouring all of the passion that he could into the next five seconds of physical contact.  It did wonders to erase the jealousy and sadness she felt when thinking about Vicky.

 

When they separated, it was Julia’s turn to laugh.  “Patience, David.  Good things come to those who wait.”  She smirked at him.  “And there better be coming in our future.  You promised.”

 

“Look at you, using my line against me.”

 

“I’d much rather have something else against you.” 

 

“Me too, darling, me too.”  He gave her another kiss and sighed.  “I don’t know how I can wait until Friday.” 

 

“Just think of the dress with the slit, David.”  _The dress I don’t own… I have less than a week to find one._

 

David laughed and stood up.  Julia stood next to him, trying to hold her dress up over her still-exposed breasts while he put on his vest, his shirt, and his jacket.

 

She let go of her dress to give him one last kiss, both of her hands clinging to the collar of his jacket.  Her nipples went hard again as they brushed against his chest and she lingered there for a moment.

 

“I had a wonderful time tonight, Julia.  Thank you.”

 

Another kiss.  They hadn’t even made love and they were already acting like young lovers who couldn’t stand to part from each other.

 

“I did, too, David.” 

 

Another kiss.

 

“I hope Charlie’s okay.  Please, if you can, tell me how he is?”

 

“Of course.”

 

One last kiss.

 

After David left, Julia walked slowly to her bedroom.  Being with David brought out an entirely different side of her, and she liked it.  She was too aroused to sleep, but she couldn’t bear the thought of pleasuring herself alone anymore.  It would just have to wait until Friday.  She finished unbuttoning her dress and let it fall to the floor.  She pulled on a pair of yoga pants and an oversized sweater and grabbed a file from her work bag.  An hour later, as she was about to turn out the lights, she saw her phone light up.

 

One new text.  From “PS Budd.”  _I should change that to “David.”_

 

She opened it and read.  “Charlie’s finally asleep.  Thank you for asking about him.”

 

Another message popped up, this time two images with a caption.  “Since you’re so demanding… selfies of PS Budd with his children.”  Julia smiled.  The first picture was David kneeling next to Ella, who was fast asleep.   The second was David in his dress pants and undershirt in a tiny bed, his arm wrapped around a sleeping Charlie.  She couldn’t help but think that he took these pictures _for her._

 

She texted back, revising her message several times before hitting send.  “I’m glad he’s okay.  The pictures are lovely, and so are you.  Thank you.  You made my night.”


	9. Discovery

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay in posting. Work has been crazy. And sorry to disappoint you all, but this chapter does NOT have Friday's dinner... and the anticipated steamy sex between Julia and David. As they both said, patience! This chapter does, however, have one of our favorite sadly-underdeveloped characters playing a major role - PC Kim Knowles! (I will make your day now - assuming this story gets to the bombing at some point, she won't be dying either!) 
> 
> I hope you enjoy it!

Julia woke with a smile, only to immediately feel a pit in her stomach when she remembered why she was smiling.  Everything that happened last night was… _unexpected_ … to say the least.  She couldn’t stop thinking about it as she got out of bed and got ready for her day.

 

Was she insane?  She _almost_ …. With her _PPO!_   If anyone found out, the press would have a field day.  The party would have a field day.  Roger would have a field day.  She’d be done, ruined forever.  David was her PPO; he was still married – his separation was a technicality that would be overlooked; he was ten years younger than her.  They may not have had sex, but the things they did…  _And oh, how good it felt…  No, enough!_   They would’ve had sex if Vicky hadn’t called.  There was no part of the evening that could redeem what they did, what they planned to do.

 

Except that she _liked_ him and she was fairly certain that he _liked_ her.  This wasn’t a power play, not like how she and Roger got together.  It wasn’t a drunken fling: neither of them finished their drinks at her flat and her drinks at the gala were done several hours before.  It was two consenting _generally_ available adults enjoying each other after spending their evening together.  What was so wrong with that?

 

Everything.

 

It couldn’t happen again.

 

Julia was disappointed in herself for letting good looks and an attentive man get to her head and make her take leave of her senses.  This wasn’t how the Right Honorable Julia Montague, MP, Home Secretary, one of the top criminal barristers in the country, future candidate for Prime Minister, behaved.

 

But why couldn’t she have fun?  Feel human, feel beautiful, feel wanted?  Like someone and be liked back?

 

Because she had ambitions.  Because she was in politics.  Because she was a woman who wanted to get somewhere.

 

Julia felt like she was going to be sick.

 

The only thing that Julia concluded with any certainty by the time her doorbell rang, announcing whatever member of her security team would be with her today, was that nothing could ever happen with David again.  Chances were he felt the same way.  He could lose his job, too.  A fling with his principal was not worth that.  They could both forget what happened and move on.  How, exactly, she didn’t know, but she was Julia Montague and she would figure it out.  And step one involved _not_ buying a dress with a slit.  In fact, a frumpy old dress might be the best option.

 

When Julia got to the door, she breathed a sigh of relief to see Kim there, waiting patiently to be let inside.  Thank God it wasn’t David. 

 

“Good morning, ma’am,” Kim said, as she followed Julia back into her flat.

 

“Kim,” responded Julia.

 

“I’m not sure what you did to Sergeant Budd last night, ma’am, but he’s a changed man today.”

 

Julia stopped so suddenly in the hallway that Kim almost walked right into her.  Trying to keep her voice moderate as she let Kim pass her and go into the living room, Julia replied, “Oh?  How so?”

 

“He’s apparently an opera fan now.  Can’t get enough of it.  I never thought Skip would get classy, but whatever you did last night made it happen.”  Kim laughed.  “He really enjoyed his evening.  I couldn’t get him to shut up about it.  Was it that good?”  Kim turned to look back at Julia, a questioning look on her face.

 

Julia shrugged.  “I supposed it was.  I didn’t realize it meant so much to him.”

 

Could David’s eagerness to talk about the evening have anything to do with the fact that they had been together?  That she was the one he shared it with?  The thought put the first crack in her resolve _not_ to “see” David again.

 

“You seem remarkably indifferent to the evening.”

 

Julia shrugged again and gestured to the couch, offering Kim a seat.  “I’m just a bit preoccupied this morning.”

 

Julia saw Kim freeze as she went to sit down.  It was then that Julia realized her mistake: David’s beer bottle and her wine glass were both still on the table, half full.  Julia had confided in Kim about dates in the past, usually specifically requesting that Kim be one of her team present for them.  It was easy to talk to Kim, easy to share a few laughs about whatever man failed to live up to Julia’s standards, easy to complain to her about whatever stupid thing the man did.  Julia had very few real friends, but even though their relationship was based on work, she hoped she could count Kim as one of them; it would’ve been nice to talk to Kim about David, but she couldn’t.

 

Kim proceeded to sit, but when she looked back up at Julia, her eyes were full of laughter, as if it were any other date they were discussing.  Kim simply didn’t know how different this one was.  “I can see why, ma’am.  Skip was too busy falling in love with opera to notice that you attracted someone’s attentions, apparently!  That _would_ be more exciting than opera.  I hope you had a good evening?”

 

Julia busied herself gathering the beer bottle and the wine glass to bring to the kitchen, hoping to deflect the question.

 

“Ma’am?” 

 

Julia should’ve known it wouldn’t work.  To suddenly go quiet to Kim on date details was out of the ordinary.

 

_I had a lovely evening, better than I’ve had in a long time._   “It was fine.”

 

“Are you going to see him again?”

 

_I wish._   “No, it’s unlikely.”

 

“Why?  What’s wrong with him?  Was the date that bad?”

 

_No, the “date” was as close to bloody perfect as you can get in real life.  But just like in real life…_ “There are some fatal flaws to seeing him again.”

 

“Life is made up of fatal flaws, ma’am.  They might be worth overlooking.”

 

_Dammit, Kim.  You’re not helping._  Julia rolled her eyes.

 

Kim stood back up and followed Julia into the kitchen, watching as she poured the beer and wine into the sink.

 

“You either kicked him out before he could finish his beer, or you distracted him too much to let him finish his beer.  If it was the former, you’d have told me why by now, ma’am.”  Kim let the unspoken question linger in the silence.

 

Julia turned back to face Kim and ran a hand through her hair.  “It’s just not going to work.  It’s for the best if we don’t continue… _whatever this is_ ,” said Julia, with a shake of her head.

“If I may be so bold, ma’am, I think he actually got to you.  You’re not usually this… _bothered_ … by a date.  I think you like him.  And I think that scares you.”

 

Julia inhaled sharply.  Kim was right.

 

“Ask him to be your date Friday.”

 

_Kim…_ “I can’t.”

 

“Why not?”

 

“Because.”  Julia almost stopped there, before realizing it made her sound like a petulant child.  “Because he’s not available.”

 

“So you already asked him?”

 

“Not exactly.”

 

“Then how do you know he’s not available?”

 

Kim was really getting frustrating.

 

“He told me he’s working Friday evening.  I _can’t_ ask him.”  _So there.  And it’s technically true._

 

“But you want to.  I’m sure he could get the time off.”

 

Julia threw her hands up into the air.  “Kim!”

 

“Yes, ma’am?”

 

“You’re incorrigible.”

 

“Makes me interesting, ma’am…. Just like this date of yours.  What’s he like?”

 

Julia sighed and walked back into the living room.

 

“Are you getting paid overtime weekend hours to harass me about my date?”

 

“I am, in fact.  It’s the easiest overtime I’ve earned, and the most enjoyable.  So, tell me about him.  What do you like about him?”

 

_Do I start with how horribly attracted I am to him?  To his body, to his touch, to the way his eyes look at me?  Or his smile?  The sexual tension between us?  Or the most terrifying of all – that I actually am interested in his children, in what makes him who he is?  That somehow this feels like it goes beyond sex, even though we haven’t done it yet?  That I’ve dreamed about him every day since I met him?  That I wore his shirt to bed?_

 

Kim smiled at Julia knowingly. 

 

“What?!”  Julia was exasperated.

 

“I’m right.  You _do_ like him.  Look, you’ve only had one date.  You can’t just end it because you’re afraid.”

 

_Watch me._   But in reality, Julia could feel her reservations slowly slipping away the more she thought about David and the more Kim talked.

 

“Does he want to see you again?”

 

_How should I bloody know?_   “Probably not.  Most people don’t.  You seem to be the only one who enjoys my company on a regular basis.”  _How true that is._

“Ma’am.”  Kim gave her a stern look.

 

“PC Knowles, could you _maybe, just maybe_ do your job and focus on keeping me safe instead of interrogating me about my date last night?”

 

“But ma’am,” started Kim, plastering an innocent look on her face, “how can I keep you safe from mystery man if I don’t know his identity?”

 

Julia rolled her eyes.

 

“In all seriousness, yes, though.  Do you still need to go out?”

 

_Good question._ Julia had been confident on nixing the purchase of a new dress for David, but wasn’t sure anymore. 

 

Kim sensed her hesitation.  “I’m in no rush.  I’m happy to stay here a few hours until you decide whether to go out.”

 

_Well, it couldn’t hurt to look._

“Yes, I suppose we should.  I’d like to see if I can find a dress for Friday.”

 

“Because you’re going to ask him,” stated Kim, as if it were the most obvious explanation in the world.  


“No!”  What more could she tell Kim to convince her that this “mystery man” was not going to be her date on Friday?  “I just want to take the opportunity to make Roger jealous.  Nice dress, look nicer than him, look nicer than whatever floozy he brings with him.  It’ll be the highlight of my evening.”

 

That sounded much more like Julia.  Putting people in their place, impressing people with who she was, not floundering after some man who turned her on so badly that just thinking of him made her wet.

 

Determined to _only look_ at dresses, Julia let Kim escort her into several well-selected and highly secure department stores.  After the second one, Julia was surprisingly interested in finding a dress, regardless of whether it matched David’s requested style.  At the third store, she immediately found two.  Both were floor length and fit like a glove.  The first had neckline that plunged to a high waist where the color changed from black on top to blue on the bottom.  It showcased Julia’s breasts marvelously, and accented her small waist.  The material crisscrossed across her back, leaving much of it exposed.  But there was no slit.  The second was black and somehow looking even more thinning than it was.  It was backless and the top had a sweetheart neckline (also doing justice to her cleavage) held up by a single draped shoulder strap.  The best feature was the slit that ran straight up past the middle of Julia’s thigh.  There was barely a hands-width of material between the top of the slit and her pelvis.  If she moved her leg the right way, it left very little to the imagination.

 

“What do you think, Kim?” Julia asked.

 

“You look gorgeous, ma’am,” Kim replied slowly.

 

“But… there’s a but.  But what?”

 

Kim took a deep breath and glanced at the sales associate who had been helping them.  Apparently deeming the woman worthy of being privy to what she was about to say, she continued.  “Well, you wanted a dress to make Roger jealous.  Either of these will most definitely do that.  But,” Kim hesitated.  “They’re a bit extreme for that.  The ones at the last store did that, much more subtly.  Forgive me in advance for swearing, but there’s no better way to put it.  Your typical Roger jealousy dress says, ‘Fuck you; I’m successful, I’m beautiful, I belong here, and I don’t need you.’”  Kim paused.  “The dresses at the other stores said that.  These dresses,” she said, gesturing to the one hanging on the door of the dressing room and the one Julia had on, “say something else entirely.  They don’t say, ‘Fuck you.’  They say, ‘Fuck me senseless.  I’m begging you.’”  The sales associate nodded her head in agreement.

 

_Good.  That’s the goal._   Turning to the sales associate, Julia said, “Perfect.  Then I’ll take this one.”  The one with the slit.  The one David requested.

 

As they left the store, Kim looked at Julia and spoke.  “Your mystery date.  I’m assuming he’ll be there on Friday.  Admit it.  That’s why you bought the dress.”

 

“How many times do I have to tell you that I do not have a date for Friday?  Why can’t I just buy a dress for myself?”

 

Kim shook her head.  She wasn’t born yesterday.  Julia Montague wanted to show off for someone in that dress, of that she was absolutely certain.

 

When they returned to Julia’s flat, the guard stationed outside held out an arrangement of flowers.  “PC Knowles, these arrived for the principal while you were gone.  They seem safe.”  Kim gave Julia a look that said, _They’re from your man – I know it._

 

Kim carried the flowers inside and set them down on the counter while she quickly searched the flat.  Unlike with David, Julia was not required to wait in the hallway while Kim carried out her search.  When Kim finished, she came back over to Julia, who was now standing near the couch.  She had brought the flowers into the living room with her.  They weren’t just an ordinary arrangement of flowers.  They were orchids.  The card attached to it had no name on it, but the message didn’t leave Julia wondering who sent it: “Better late than never, I hope.  To opera, being pleasantly surprised in more ways than one, and what I hope is many many more distractions… without interruptions.”

 

“It looks like you made quite an impression on the man who had the beer.  Unless you’re telling me that the flowers are from another secret admirer,” laughed Kim.  Julia rolled her eyes and shook her head.  “I still think you should ask Mr. Beer-and-Flower-Man to be your date Friday.  You deserve to have a little fun.”

 

“Not a chance, Kim.  You’re really never going to let me hear the end of it, are you?”

 

“I carry a gun for a living and wear a bullet-proof vest, protecting the most visible woman in Britain besides the Queen.  I don’t get to have a lot of fun in my job.  Just give me this one, ma’am.”

 

Julia raised her hands in mock defeat.  “Fair enough.  Alright.”

 

“But seriously, you don’t get to have a lot of fun either.  I hope you’re giving this man points for sending flowers, and bonus points for knowing that orchids are your favorite.  I was just telling PS Budd when I saw him this morning that no one gets that right.”

 

Julia responded before she fully processed what Kim said.  “I have no idea how he knew.”  Julia glanced pensively down at the flowers, then quickly back up to Kim.  “You saw PS Budd?”

 

“Yes, ma’am.  I told you already.  He was fascinated by the opera, remember?  We usually hit the gym at the same time on Sundays, though I was surprised to see him.  He looked exhausted.  After he left you, he had to…,” Kim paused.  “I’m not sure you know, but he’s separated.  His kids live with his wife.  His son wasn’t doing well last night, so he went there after the gala and was up most of the night.  But that’s PS Budd for you.  He’ll do anything for his kids and not much slows him down.”

 

“He loves those kids,” whispered Julia.  She reluctantly asked her next question, though she was dying to know the answer.  “So why were talking about flowers with him?”

 

“Oh,” Kim laughed.  “He went on a date and wanted to send her flowers.  He hasn’t dated since the separation, even though his wife moved on a while ago.  He was nervous about what kind of flowers were appropriate and he wanted my opinion.  We’ve been friends for some ten years, aside from being colleagues.  We did a tour together, stayed in touch, then got back as colleagues in specialist protection.  I guess something from those ten years made him think I’m qualified to share my knowledge on flowers.”  Kim paused.  “I mean, realistically, he hasn’t been on a date in…Ella’s ten, so… twelve, thirteen years?  Before his marriage.  The poor man was a wreck.”  Kim laughed again.  “Seriously, men.  I told him roses are fine, unless he knows she prefers something else.  That scared him.  He was afraid he hadn’t been observant enough and wanted to know what other options existed besides roses.  I told him that I like daisies, you like orchids.”  Kim stopped and shook her head.  “He definitely thought it was odd that you like orchids.  He kept asking, making sure he’d heard me correctly.”  Kim slowed down as she continued.  “I finally told him the story about how Roger got you dahlias and commented on how they’re your favorite for your last anniversary.  As if he hadn’t done enough to convince you to divorce…”  Kim got quiet and looked down at the orchids on the table.

 

Julia held her breath, too afraid to say anything.  It was as if she could see Kim putting the puzzle pieces together in her mind and knew it was just a matter of time before she saw the whole picture clearly.

 

Kim looked back up her.  “He… really was _interested_ … in making sure you liked orchids.”

 

“Hmm,” was the only response that Julia could muster.  She tilted her head to the side and raised her eyebrows.

 

“Ma’am?”  Kim stopped, and in that moment, Julia knew that Kim had figured it out.  “If you need…”  She stopped again and frowned, as though unsure of how to proceed.  “He’s a good man.  I’m happy for you both.  I won’t say a word, I promise.  If you need someone to… _run interference_ …to let him stay here overnight without anyone knowing, I’ll do that.”

 

“Kim, I… I don’t know what you’re talking about,” said Julia, but she knew her voice was unconvincing.

 

Kim continued, undeterred, “He’ll love the dress.  Though I hope I’m not out of line by saying that I hope he enjoys taking it off you more than seeing it on you.  You both could use it.”  Kim smiled.

 

“Kim, I…”  Julia sighed and gave up.  “How?  How did you know?”

 

“I’m paid to be observant.”

 

The color drained out of Julia’s face.  She did _not_ appreciate Kim’s joke.

 

“Believe me, I don’t think anyone else would figure it out, ma’am.  They would’ve needed to hear David’s questions about the flowers and know that you received those _exact_ flowers.  He only asked me and he didn’t know that I was coming here today.  I haven’t been in your flat in months.  Very few officers actually come into your flat and even if they did, all they would see was an arrangement of orchids, which you occasionally buy for yourself and which, up until today, no date has ever sent you.  They would have no idea.  If I saw them here tomorrow instead of seeing them delivered today, I would’ve just assumed you bought them yourself.”

 

“I don’t believe you.”  Julia switched into barrister mode.  “The flowers are coincidental, yes, but determinative, no.  It would still be a guess, or an overactive imagination, which I concede that you have.  But you wouldn’t say something like this without being sure.”

 

“Well, you had a guest last night.  You didn’t deny it when I saw the beer and the wine.”

 

“I couldn’t have brought someone home from the gala?  That’s what you thought all along.”

 

“You _did_ bring someone home from the gala – I just didn’t realize who!”  Kim laughed.  “No.  Skip would have told me if a man came home with you.  You know me, always looking out for you.  I asked him if there were any potential romantic interests. He would’ve told me if he brought someone back here with you.”

 

“Someone couldn’t have come over after he left?”

 

Kim shrugged.  “Possibly…. But if you met him at the gala, why delay him coming over until after PS Budd left?  If you didn’t meet him at the gala, I’m not sure when you did; you haven’t had time for a date in months.  And why the secrecy about his identity?”

 

Julia tilted her head in question, as if to tell her to go on. 

 

“The dress is very clearly for someone you’re interested in, not Roger.  I’ve seen you pick ‘Fuck you, Roger’ dresses and this is _definitely_ not the same.  You also said earlier this week that you couldn’t care less what you wore to the dinner.  Something, or _someone_ , made you change your mind.  I correctly assumed it was your date.

 

“You told me that ‘Beer Man’ wasn’t your date for Friday, _not_ that he wouldn’t be there.  When I asked you if you had asked him to be your date, your response was ‘not exactly.’  In fact, you said he has to work.  PS Budd wasn’t supposed to work Friday’s dinner… until this morning, when he changed shifts.  Granted, he should’ve been scheduled for it anyway – this new scheduling system is so messed up, it was likely an oversight – but he specifically arranged it this morning so that he could work the dinner.  He can’t be your date, but he will be there, so it makes sense that you want the ‘fuck me senseless’ dress.”

 

Julia blushed.  Why did Kim have to keep acknowledging that it was a “fuck me senseless” dress?

 

“Finally, when did Sergeant Budd have a chance to go on a date?  You’ve spent all your evenings together, working late, since Wednesday.  If Skip was only just thinking of sending flowers today for a date from last weekend, he’s dafter than I thought!”  Kim laughed.

 

“The flowers, the beer, the dress, the schedule change, your complete lack of free time for anyone else and the same for him.  Your unwillingness to share his identity, when you always tell me about your dates.  Not to mention your very real interest in this mystery man, but extreme hesitation to let it go further, which is completely understandable in these circumstances. These are all things that, alone, mean nothing.  Any piece in isolation would never lead to the conclusion I made.  I just happened to find out all of it, and put the pieces together.”

 

Julia sighed.

 

“Oh, and PS Budd was happy this morning.  Like, _genuinely, unbelievably_ happy _._ Even though his son hasn’t been doing well.  It’s been a long time since I’ve seen him like this.”

 

Julia looked at Kim with a question in her eye.

 

“He hasn’t had it easy.  He’s a good man and won’t let on when things bother him.  He deserves to be happy, and so do you.”  Julia was still in shock that Kim knew.  “I’m serious, me knowing could be a good thing.  Getting the two of you time alone without arousing suspicions will be challenging.”

 

Julia knew that would be true. 

 

“You do _like_ him, don’t you?”  Kim’s tone bordered on accusatory.  “I know you barely know each other, but this isn’t just a fling for him.  He doesn’t do that and his job’s not worth that.  If at some point this becomes just a fling for you, you need to cut and run.  You can have a fling with any other man, but not with Skip.  He’s like a brother to me.  I won’t see him get hurt by someone who just wants sex.  Life’s been too hard for him already.”

 

Julia gulped.  Kim’s allegiance to David and her desire to protect him was very clear.  She felt the need to justify herself to Kim, but was lost as to what to say. 

 

“You’re right, I barely know him,” said Julia.  Her voice sounded harsh to her ears.  She tried to take it down a notch.  “But…”  She looked down at the floor and back up to Kim.  “But I want to know him.  I haven’t felt like this in a very long time, Kim, and it’s not easy for me.”  She sat on the couch and gestured for Kim to sit on the couch opposite her.  “What do I do?”


	10. The School

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry it's taken so long to get this chapter up! Work has been very busy in general, on top of which I had to prepare to be out for a work trip this week and for surgery next week. Sadly, that put this on the back burner.
> 
> I'm also sorry that I lied - this chapter is not Friday's event and after party. There were a few other scenes I desperately wanted to include (with some edits of my own) and wanted to make sure they were here before Friday's main event :)
> 
> I will try to get the Friday chapter up soon, but ask for your patience in case it takes a while! Thanks again for reading!

Julia felt mildly better about her decision to continue whatever this was with David after her long talk with Kim.  He continued to drift in and out of her mind for the remainder of Sunday and thinking of him provided a welcome distraction to the work that she needed to finish.  She did send him one text – a very ambiguous, “Thank you,” for the flowers (for obvious reasons, she was concerned about putting anything too blatant in writing knowing that both her phone and David’s could be searched; the greater irony was how much more of a risk it would be if RIPA-18 passed) – and he replied with a selfie of him and his children.  Knowing that he heard her interest in seeing pictures with the children made her smile, and while she had only ever gotten close enough to Kim to text personal messages like this to someone on her protection team, it wasn’t completely out of the realm of possibility.  The messages wouldn’t be suspicious, or at the very least, if someone questioned them, the messages had a plausible alternate reason for being sent.

 

Much to Julia’s dismay, David did not meet her first thing at the Home Office the next morning, but his presence was very clearly needed when Rob fired Chanel.  Word reached Julia’s ears fairly quickly that “the hulk of a bodyguard” or “the sexy man who guards the Home Secretary” arrived just in time to diffuse the situation and escort Chanel from the building.  As thrilled as she was that Chanel was finally fired (which alone could be the highlight of the year), the idea of seeing David again was much more thrilling. 

 

There was no immediate sign of David, however.  Julia was tied up on a conference call, skimming several reports, and trying to draft an email in her office when she felt as if someone was watching her.  Looking up from her desk, she saw David standing ramrod straight at his post in the hallway, his eyes on her.  She gave him the slightest smile when her eyes met his and he nodded his head to her.  Apparently having seen what he needed, he turned his head back to the hallway and Julia resumed her work at her desk.  Now was not the time to daydream.

 

About thirty minutes later, Julia put on her coat, grabbed her bags, and proceeded into the hallway.  She had a meeting in Parliament and assuming normal procedure was followed, David would be the one to escort her there.

 

“Good morning, ma’am.  How was your weekend?”  David said, as he followed her to the elevator.  While there were other people in the hallway, they were alone, for all intents and purposes.  David’s voice betrayed nothing of what happened between them.  Neither did his eyes.  _Good, very good._  

 

“Good morning, Sergeant Budd.  It was _stimulating_ ,” said Julia, deliberately making eye contact with David as she emphasized the last word.  “And yours?”

 

“There was a particularly hard situation I found myself in.”

 

Julia kept her composure with difficulty.  Even before he said that, she had felt her body responding to being in such close proximity to him and responding to the sound of his voice.  Her pulse started to race with his choice of the word _hard_.  Her mind went back to the two of them on her couch, the feel of him on top of her, how close she was to feeling exactly how hard he was.  She collected herself and responded, “I’m sorry to hear that,” nodding her head at him and turning back to continue her walk to the elevator so that she could no longer see his face.  “I wish I could have helped.”

 

“Thank you, ma’am.  I’m sure you could’ve worked wonders on the situation.  Next time.”

 

Julia’s steps almost faltered, but she miraculously continued walking.  She hoped her face wasn’t as red as she was afraid it was.

 

The two of them stepped into the elevator.  As the door shut behind them, Julia held her breath.  She was afraid to say anything to David, afraid to stand too close to him, afraid to look at him.  She needed more than the few seconds in the elevator to do everything she wanted to do with him, but her body was screaming at her to take advantage of the precious few seconds alone regardless.  Knowing that she couldn’t say no if David made a move, but also knowing that she wouldn’t be able to stop this time, she fervently hoped that he would stay on his side of the elevator and not say a word.  Julia breathed a sigh of relief when the elevator opened.

 

By the time they reached Parliament, Julia was no longer distracted by David.  She had always prided herself on her ability to focus on her work and not be distracted by personal concerns, as well as her ability to cut through the distractions of colleagues to focus on what was most important.  Stepping out of the car, however, she noticed someone who crossed the line between work and personal distraction: Roger.

 

“Mind if I steal your boss for a minute, Rob?” Roger asked to Rob, who had approached Julia from another car.

 

_Of course not, why bother asking **me** for permission to talk to me?  _

 

Rob disappeared.  While clearly upset at losing her attention to another man, if there was anything that could get him to disregard Julia’s needs, interests, or desires, it was the authority of someone presumably more powerful than her. 

 

With Rob gone, Roger started to harangue Julia for the Andrew Marr interview she did on Thursday. 

 

“Is there a point to this conversation?” Julia asked him.

 

“Why aren’t you returning my calls?”  Roger responded.

 

_Because they’re the pointless, desperate calls of someone who knows he’ll lose his job when I take Number 10, and while you still think you can control me, you’re wrong._

 

“Pardon me, ma’am,” David interrupted, “for security reasons, I’d prefer if you moved indoors.”

 

Julia hadn’t realized that David was still there.  She immediately noticed that Roger was less than pleased to have someone as _lowly_ as a protection officer tell him what to do.

 

“You work for us, Plod, so wind your neck in,” Roger growled at him.  He continued his rant at Julia; David’s concerns meant nothing to him.

 

When David interjected again, it took Julia a second to put her finger on why his comments were so notable.  Everyone in politics knew of the history between her and Roger, but everyone in politics also knew Roger’s power.  While Julia had done a tremendous job securing her power herself, Roger had been around a lot longer and he was a man; his power was more convincing, and more threatening.  Even those who supported Julia were not ready to stand up for her against one of Roger’s tirades.  Everyone, that is, except David.

 

“Can’t you call your monkey off?  Throw him some nuts?”  Roger asked her.  He was pissed.

 

“I’m mixed race,” David replied, poker-faced.

 

_Damn.  David 1, Roger 0.  Just when I thought it couldn’t get any better._

 

Julia grinned at David as she turned to walk inside with him.

 

Once out of earshot of Roger, Julia questioned David, “Are you?  Biracial?”

 

“No, ma’am,” came his reply.

 

Julia chuckled.  _He’s sexy, he wants me (mmm, does he want me…), he’s thoughtful and caring to his children, and he’ll stand up to my ex-husband._   _It’s my lucky day._

 

The rest of the day was long and uneventful.  As night closed in and she packed up her belongings at the office, Julia hoped that she could convince David to stay at her flat, off-duty, at least long enough to have a conversation.  Or make out.  Whichever he preferred.  (Her preference was for sex, but she knew it was unlikely he’d have more than five minutes for her this late on a Monday night.  She’d settle for a good snog instead.)

 

Once at her flat, Julia tried to make small talk, but was uncharacteristically at a loss for what to say.  She was reluctant to say anything too personal while he was still on duty.  Instead, she made a lame joke about how he could handle escorting Chanel from the building if he could handle a terrorist trying to blow up a train.  She also, very reluctantly, returned his freshly dry-cleaned shirt; she much preferred to keep it and wear it to bed again.  When she offered him a glass of wine, he declined, indicating that he was, indeed, still on duty.  He even declined a soft drink.  _Hmmm, clearly he’s not talkative this evening._   Resigned that they weren’t going to get anywhere, she headed to her desk with her wine while he watched her.  _Interesting.  He’s still here.  Maybe there is hope._

 

“Did you always want to be a politician?”  David asked her, seemingly out of nowhere.

 

_Not exactly stimulating foreplay._

Going into politics was something close to Julia’s heart.  She did it to help people, even if it felt like her ability to help people was drastically limited lately.  She wanted to tell David all of this but sensed something was bothering him, so she kept her answer brief.  This wasn’t the David from Saturday night.

 

After her reply, David continued, “May I ask, ma’am… That interview you did on Tele, did you mean what you said?”

 

Realization dawned on Julia.  The Andrew Marr interview.  The one Roger confronted her about earlier.  RIPA-18.  Kim had warned her that politically, she and David were on opposite ends of the spectrum.  She just didn’t expect it to come up so soon.

 

“I don’t only say what people want to hear.  I’m about doing the right thing and making the hard choices,” Julia responded.  Without warning, talking to David had turned into a political debate and she had put her defenses up.  It was much easier to do that than try to make small talk.  Much easier to play the politician than the lover.  It’s what came naturally to her.

 

David remained silent, but the look in his eyes was harsh.  It chilled her to see him that way.  Did he not know this?  Did he not know who she was?  What she stood for?  Her voting record?

 

Irritated, Julia continued, “I don’t need you to vote for me, only to protect me.”  _And I’m not entirely sure where sleeping with me comes into play, so let’s not go there now._

 

“Rest assured, ma’am,” David said coldly.  “I’ll do what’s required.”  There was a long pause, followed by, “Ma’am.”

 

Not Julia, not darling.  Ma’am.

 

Julia heaved a long sigh when David left and shut the door behind him.  What the fuck was that about?  And where did this leave them?

 

Determined not to let the pit in her stomach created by the encounter consume her, Julia turned to her work and her wine.  A few hours later, the pit was still there, as was the mountain of work.  The only thing that had disappeared was the wine.  It was late and concentration was nowhere to be found.

 

“Fuck it,” she muttered, as she pushed the stack of files off her desk and threw up her arms. “What does it matter anyway?”

 

Leaving the papers scattered on the floor, she stormed off to her bedroom and fell into a restless, agonizing, dream-filled slumber.  Dreams involving David, yes, just as her dreams had been every night since they met, but this time, he was taunting her, reprimanding her, insulting her for her beliefs.  Why couldn’t he or anyone, for that matter, understand that she was trying to help people?  Why did they see her as some sort of heartless heathen?  She screamed at him in her dream and awoke with a sore throat, realizing that she must have screamed herself awake.

 

[Several hours later]

 

Tuesday dawned bright and cheerful, the complete opposite of Julia’s mood.  When she saw that David was present in the ministerial vehicle that arrived at her flat to bring her to the Home Office, her mood fell further, but it seemed to be on par with his.  Yes, David was usually silent, but there was a heaviness about him, a despair that was out of the ordinary, and he didn’t acknowledge her verbally in any way.  He barely looked at her.  Determined to treat him the same way, she resorted to what she did best – work.

 

Julia settled into the backseat of the car and pulled open her files.  A periodic vibrating interrupted her perusal of the documents.  It was David’s phone.

 

“Sorry, ma’am,” he said to her, “I need to keep it on for work.”

 

The vibration continued.

 

“I think you’d better answer that before it drives us all up the wall,” Julia said.  The noise was only aggravating her further.

 

“Apologies, ma’am,” David replied, as he answered the phone.

 

The conversation that Julia heard was a strained one.  It was Vicky and there appeared to be an issue with Charlie.  It was something about a different school, but they couldn’t get him into the one he needed.  When he finished the call, David looked as despairing as he had Saturday night when discussing Charlie’s nightmares and David’s absence from his life.

 

Julia was touched.  She forgot about her irritation with David for questioning her political beliefs and thought only of her desire to help people.  If she could help Charlie, get him into the school that he needed, maybe then David would realize that she was in this for the right reason.  That though they may disagree politically, she did the right thing.  She could prove to him that she was worth something, that all of this was worth it.

 

Julia made a beeline to her office when they arrived at the Home Office, ignoring Kim’s questioning glance as Kim realized that Julia had left David downstairs, far behind her.  Too bad, but everyone’s concerns would just have to wait.  Julia closed her door and picked up her phone.

 

“I need you to connect me to the Department of Education,” she snapped into the phone.  “Yes, to the Secretary himself.  This is Julia Montague.  I need a favor.”

 

Within minutes of hanging up with the Secretary, being assured that he would see to “remedying the situation with all due speed,” Julia wished she had known about Charlie’s problem sooner.

 

“We’ve acquired intelligence on a possible terrorist attack on a London school,” Steven Hunter-Dunn informed her.

 

Julia thought it couldn’t get worse, until one of the potential targets was identified.

 

“One of the schools threw up a link to a serving police officer.  His kids attend.  David Budd,” Hunter-Dunn continued.

 

Julia looked up to where David was standing in the hallway.  Her breath caught in her throat.  _Charlie.  Ella._   What could she do?

 

Nothing, apparently, or at least that was Hunter-Dunn’s recommendation.  “Taking specific steps to protect the school in question may redirect the terrorists towards a different course of action, action we’re unprepared for,” he said.

 

Julia knew that was a valid point, but it was David’s children.  Hell, it was David.  If those involved in the first of October attack wanted revenge, who was to say that they would stop at attacking the school attended by his children?  What about the children’s house, or David’s flat?  What about just them, on their way to or from school?  What about David himself?

 

Julia ran her hand through her hair and stole another glance at David as Hunter-Dunn gathered his things and left her office.  She had to do something, but what?  How fast could Charlie be pulled from the school?  Could it be done without a paper trail?  Could Ella go with him?  She would need to think on this further before giving the Secretary of Education another call later in the day, to inquire on how well “all due speed” was progressing.

 

More importantly, _could_ she tell David?  _Should_ she tell David?  If anything happened to his children… David would… No, Julia couldn’t bring herself to think of the _what if_.  She had to do something.  _But what?_ She looked out to David again and blinked back the tears that were threatening to come.  Why did this man make her feel so much emotion?

 

Julia couldn’t shake her fears for David and his children the rest of the day.  She occasionally opened the texts from David to look at the pictures of his children, which only served to upset her more.  When she reached back out to the Secretary of Education, nothing had been done and it appeared unlikely that anything would happen soon.  She needed to find out more about what was needed.  Back at her flat that evening, she was determined to find out.  She also craved more personal interaction with David, which had been nonexistent all day.

 

“All clear, ma’am,” David told her, allowing her to move from the entryway into the flat itself.  “Have a good night,” he continued, as she passed him in the hallway and entered the living room.  It was a very curt dismissal, but more words than he had said to her since the car ride that morning.  Something was wrong and Julia wasn’t sure if it had something to do with her, or with his children.

 

Julia turned back to face him.  “David, wait,” she said, taking a step closer to him again.  She saw a slight release of the tension in his body at the sound of his name rather than his title.

 

“Yes…?” he responded, not using “ma’am,” but also not saying “Julia.”

 

“What’s wrong with Charlie?” she asked, getting straight to the point.  There was no use making small talk.

 

David’s jaw clenched, but his eyes didn’t leave hers, which Julia assumed was a good sign.  At least he was reacting to the conversation better than he had on Saturday.

 

He spoke with difficulty.  Julia could hear the heartache in his voice as he said, “He has problems reading.  He always has.  But the kids make fun of him for it.”  David shook his head.  “And it’s all getting worse.  The kids.  How behind he is.”  David took a breath.  “The phone call this morning?”

 

Julia nodded.

 

“I brought him and Ella to school.  He refused to get out of the car.  He broke down once he got inside.  There was a placement test he did for another school and we thought the program was good, but this morning, when they called about Charlie, they told my… Vicky.  They told Vicky that they can’t get him into the new school.”  David swallowed, looked down, and looked back up to meet Julia’s eyes.  “I don’t know what to do anymore,” he whispered.

 

Julia took a few steps forward and hesitantly put her hand on David’s arm, afraid that he might pull away, but he didn’t.  “We’ll get him into the right school,” she said.

 

“I can’t ask you to do that,” David replied, looking down at her hand on his arm, back up to her eyes, then down to her mouth.

 

Julia felt her heart start to race.

 

“Then don’t ask,” she whispered breathlessly.  “We’ll just do it.”

 

“Do what?”  David’s eyes hadn’t moved from her mouth.  _Please, David.  Just a kiss.  To get us through till Friday._

 

As if reading her mind, David stepped forward, eyes now dark with desire never leaving her mouth.  He brought both hands to cup the sides of her face, gently stroking her cheeks.

 

“Kiss me?” she begged him.

 

“Yes, ma’am.” 

 

With that, David brought his lips forward, brushing them gently against hers.  They hovered there, waiting for her to make the next move, to allow him in, which she gladly did.  She opened her mouth to him and felt the fire ignite inside of her as his tongue dueled with hers. 

 

Julia wrapped her arms around David’s back, pulling his body flush to hers.  She felt the wetness begin to pool between her thighs and immediately knew that they were walking a dangerous line.  If the kiss lasted much longer, she would no longer be responsible for her subsequent actions.  She pushed David away, breaking off the kiss with a gasp, her heart still racing. 

 

David looked up at her, his breathing as erratic as hers, his face flushed, confusion in his eyes.

 

Julia smiled at him coyly.  “Friday,” she said, as she traced a finger over her lips.  “Patience.”

 

“Julia…” he growled at her.

 

Julia brought her lips back to David’s briefly.  “David,” she murmured.  “Friday.  And I’ll work on getting help for Charlie, too.”

 

David breathed a sign of relief.  “Thank you.  For Charlie.  And for this.”  He kissed her again.  “And for Friday.”  Another kiss, then he turned on his heel and walked away before he could be convinced to stay.


	11. Friday Night

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone! Thank you all for your patience with this chapter. It's extremely long. Much longer than expected, probably almost double recent chapter length, but I just couldn't stop. I do have the ideas for the next two chapters pretty developed, so hopefully they will be faster to write!
> 
> I hope you enjoy it!

An hour later, Julia wrapped up her work for the evening and slipped into a comfortable pair of pajamas.  As she turned off the light and slid under the covers, thoughts of David consumed her again and ignited her body.  Friday was too far away.  She had thought she could last till then without touching herself – she'd certainly gone longer without doing it before – but she was wrong.  Her body was on fire and needed release.  She gave in, fantasizing of David as she brought herself to the edge, thinking of him spilling into her as she came.  Blissfully satisfied by fantasizing of him for the second time since meeting him, she drifted off to sleep.

 

The next two days were packed with meetings and increasingly disappointing security intel.  No progress was being made on the first of October attack and, according to Hunter-Dunn, nothing concrete was known about the potential attack on David’s children's school.  As much as she wanted to warn David of the threat, she knew he wouldn't be able to do anything even if she told him.  Yes, he could pull his children from the school, but at least security there had been heightened.  They were probably safer there than at home.  The idea of a security breach was alarming, also; if she told him and he reacted, it was more likely that the leak would find out.  She wasn't pleased with the position this put her in, but she saw no other option, short of getting Charlie into his new school, which also was going nowhere. 

 

During those two days, Julia intentionally tried to stay away from David, afraid that her body would behave in ways she couldn't control if they were in close proximity to each other, but she quickly learned that staying away from your PPO is next to impossible.  She was thankful that he made no subliminal attempts at flirting when she neared him, and that he made no comments that her increasingly horny mind could misconstrue.  She occasionally caught his eye as she looked up from her desk, but feeling her heart start to race, always averted her gaze before he did.  She tried to carry on as though she couldn't care less what his bare chest looked like, how long and hard his cock could get, or what it would feel like to have him inside her.  She wondered if it was obvious to him how miserably she failed at pretending she was immune to his presence.  It was getting harder… _no, bad word, more difficult_ … to avoid the feelings stirring deep inside of her when she saw how his broad shoulders pulled his suit jacket tightly across his back, how his pants caressed his tight ass whenever he turned away from her, or how his ocean-like eyes washed over her.  It bothered her even more to see that his behavior didn’t change an iota; how was it possible that he could maintain such composure when all she wanted to do was tear his clothes off and tell him to fuck her senseless on her desk?   _Lovely, now even the desk was a distraction._

 

Julia woke early on Friday, filled with nervous energy.  She scrambled around her flat, putting the nicest sheets on her bed, placing some candles around for romantic effect (if they took time to light them, which she secretly hoped they wouldn't…), putting a bottle of her favorite white wine in the fridge to chill (she had previously confirmed David's scotch of choice with Kim and bought a bottle during the week), and laying out everything she would need to get ready for the dinner.  She hoped to take off from the office mid-afternoon, swing by the salon for a fresh manicure and pedicure, and return to her flat to shower and redo her hair and makeup; it would be a tight schedule, but she was sure she could do it, especially if she had everything else ready.  She tried on the dress one last time and was in awe of how well it fit her, and of how sexy it made her look.  She imagined David’s hand running up her thigh and she sighed.  She tried on the sexiest of her panties, but couldn't decide what David might like most.

 

Julia always made an effort to look her best – in politics, the camera was never that far away – and she enjoyed it.  The underwear, though, was for herself.  She knew she was considered a prude – Roger made sure of that – and given her general inability to date, she felt like one most of the time.  The only thing that made her feel otherwise was how scantily clad she could be under her suits.  If anyone knew the type or amount of material covering her: lace, satin, silk; bikini, thong, g-string… Julia smiled.  Tonight, for the first time in a while, someone else would know exactly how much of a prude she _wasn’t_.  She laughed.  How she’d managed to have a plain, nude-colored bra on the day she needed David’s shirt was pure luck; anything else would’ve been extremely noticeable under a white shirt. 

 

Looking back through her panties, she settled on a black lace thong that matched the lace of the Christian Louboutin pumps she had selected to go with her dress.  She pulled a small red clutch from her closet and placed an extra lipstick inside for necessary touchups throughout the evening.  Yes, all of this would do quite nicely.  She couldn’t wait.

 

When Julia saw David waiting for her outside of the Home Office a few hours later, butterflies invaded her stomach in full force. 

 

“Good morning, ma’am,” was all he said, as he held the car door open for her. 

 

“Sergeant Budd,” she replied, collecting herself.  “How are you?”  She nodded to him and continued to walk past.

 

“I’m very glad it’s Friday, ma’am,” he replied, not a hint of anything in his voice as he followed her into the building.  “And you?  Looking forward to your evening?”

 

“No,” she replied, just to tease him.  “These kinds of things are usually pretty boring.  I doubt this evening will be any different.”

 

“I beg to differ, ma’am.  I’ve never been told that ‘these kinds of things’ are boring.  I hope you’ll see otherwise by the end of the night,” David said, still maintaining complete control of his composure.

 

“Oh really?” she questioned.  “You’re quite the expert at ‘these kinds of things,’ are you?”  Julia could feel her voice becoming breathless the more she talked. 

 

“Yes, ma’am,” he replied confidently.  “I am.”

 

_Prove it_ , is what she wanted to say.  Instead, she ignored him and kept walking.

 

A few hours later, Julia passed David in the hallway on the way to the loo.

 

“Ma’am,” he stopped her.  No one else was around.

 

“Yes, Sergeant?” she replied, puzzled.  He never initiated conversation with her in the middle of the workday, unless he was taking her somewhere.

 

“You’ve been yawning a lot this morning,” he commented. 

 

Julia stared at him.  He was frighteningly more observant than she had thought.  How much did he stare at her during the course of one day?

 

“You should conserve your energy for tonight,” he continued.  “You’re going to need it.”

 

Julia blushed and turned away.  She proceeded to the loo without another word to him.  _The audacity of that man.  And the self-control._ He seemed intent on driving her mad all day.  How many more times could he say something to her without her responding by pushing him against the wall and having her way with him?

 

At 2:00, Julia gathered her things.  It was more than time to leave if she wanted to get ready for tonight. 

 

“Ma’am,” David said, as she approached him at the elevator.  “PC Knowles will be escorting you this afternoon.  I’ll meet you at the dinner.”

 

Julia nodded.  “You won’t… collect me from my flat, then?” 

 

“No, ma’am,” he replied, as they stepped into the elevator together, the doors closing them off from the rest of the world.  He lowered his voice to a whisper.  “You’ll have to put your dress on yourself, this time, ma’am.”  He paused, letting his words sink in.  “But you can count on me to take it off.”

 

Julia bit back a moan as the elevator doors slid open.

 

“You don’t want to keep PC Knowles waiting, ma’am,” David said when Julia still hadn’t budged from her spot in the elevator.  “You don’t want to be late for tonight.”

 

Julia ran her hand through her curls and exited the elevator as steadily and as quickly as she could, without another look at David.  Her breathing erratic, she met Kim at the car and headed off to get ready for her evening.

 

 

Julia smiled nervously at herself in the mirror.  Her afternoon of pampering had been enjoyable, but hadn't done much to calm her nerves.  She still wasn't sure why the idea of the evening with David put her on edge (she’d never been nervous before a date… ever), but she had concluded that there was something about him, something more to him than just wanting to sleep with him, that she liked and for once, she was fine with that, though it's likely that was what was making her nervous.  She felt like she could be herself around him, and liked that he could challenge her views without telling her to change them.  She liked the way he flirted, the way he cared about his children, and the way he seemed to care about her above and beyond getting what he wanted (not that she knew what that was… he seemed to have no ulterior motive to being with her, unlike every other man she could think of).  She was more than ready to see where this would go, and her body was beyond ready to spend all night with him. _God, he better stay all night._

 

Kim was waiting in Julia’s living room.  She looked up as she heard Julia enter the room, an entrance marked by curses as Julia stumbled over invisible nothingness on the floor.

 

“Don't be nervous, ma'am,” Kim reassured her.  “You look beautiful.  David’s a fool if he thinks otherwise.”

 

“Thank you, Kim,” Julia replied, running a hand through her fresh curls.  She tried to laugh it off, but failed.  “I don't know why I'm so damn nervous!”

 

Kim smiled knowingly, but stayed silent as they headed to the ministerial car waiting outside.  It pleased Kim to see Julia this worked up about David; she took it as a sign that Julia actually cared about him, at least more than she had cared about any other date since her divorce.  More than anything, Kim wanted to see David happy again and the way he'd been since Saturday was the happiest she’d seen him in years.

 

 

“Lavender inbound,” Kim announced into her headset as she and Julia entered the venue for the dinner.  Julia lost track of the rest of Kim's conversation as she looked around the crowded entryway.  Her eyes skimmed over everyone present, but did not find the man she hoped to see.

 

“Is Sergeant Budd here yet, Kim?” Julia asked, afraid that perhaps his plans had changed.

 

“Yes, ma’am.  He’ll meet you at the cloakroom down the hall.  He said it's less crowded there,” Kim replied.

 

Julia took a deep breath and nodded.  She proceeded down the hallway that Kim had indicated, with Kim trailing a generous distance behind her to give her and David some privacy.

 

Julia rounded the corner and saw David standing against the doorway to the empty cloakroom down the hall.  She paused to observe him.  He was looking at his phone and seemed relatively relaxed for once, leaning against the wall while he waited.  His hair was perfectly done, as always.  Tuxedo carefully pressed, hugging his marvelously fit body.  If she didn't know better, Julia would think she’d walked onto the set of a photo shoot with the most gorgeous male model of the year.  

 

David looked up as Julia walked closer.  He pushed himself away from the wall and straightened up to his full height, back to being the ever-formal PPO.  Or not.  He  looked at her.  All of her.  Several times.  His eyes roamed over Julia as she approached and he backed into the room, to get out of sight of anyone in the hallway.  She put the tiniest bit of sexy sway to her hips as she got closer, enticed to do so by the look in his eyes.  Clearly he'd picked this cloakroom so they could be alone.

 

“Ma’am,” he greeted her, his voice deeper than normal.  Their hands touched as he reached to take her coat.  Julia’s heart raced.

 

David didn't say another word.  So vocal, so flirty, all day, and now silence.

 

“What's the matter, Sergeant Budd?”  Julia asked, smirking, pleased to finally have the upper hand.  “Cat got your tongue for once?”

 

“No, ma’am,” he replied.  Then his hand grazed the small of her back and he leaned in close enough so that she could feel his breath on her ear.  “But my tongue will get your pussy later.”

 

The heat rushed to Julia’s face.  She was sure she turned as red as her clutch.  She was speechless.  The thought of David licking her, of coming against his warm mouth…

 

“No, sir, this cloakroom is restricted.” 

 

David and Julia sprang apart as voices and footsteps got closer.

 

“I understand.  But if my ex-wife gets to use it, I don't understand why I can’t.  I damn well deserve more privacy than she does.”

 

_Roger._

 

“Mr. Penhaligon.  I’m sorry, ma’am ---” Kim tried to stop him as Roger entered the room, but she was overpowered.

 

“Look who I found here, with her own special closet.  Oh, I can see why,” Roger paused to look closely at Julia, eyes wide, laced with some emotion just beneath the surface, “you’re dressed like a tart.  You do realize your dress is torn.  You couldn’t possibly have thought you had enough sex appeal to intentionally wear something with a slit that high.  Or maybe you thought you could and that it would increase your chance of getting some tonight, but you really must know by now that no one here wants to fuck you.”

 

Julia could see David tense out of the corner of her eye.  Kim was ready to use force to drag Roger from the room if Julia asked her to.  But this was Julia’s fight, and if done well, she would enjoy it. 

 

Julia took a step closer to Roger, chin held high.  She could smell alcohol already on his breath.

 

“I obviously picked the right dress, Kim.  It’s managed to rile up Mr. Penhaligon even better than expected.”  Dropping her voice, she continued, looking Roger right in the eye.  “Jealous much?  You can look, but you can’t touch.  This isn’t for you.”  She leaned over in David’s direction, enough to give David a good view of her cleavage, but not Roger, and scratched an imaginary itch on her thigh, pulling the slit in the dress back enough to expose seventy-five percent of her leg. 

 

“What makes you think I’d want to touch you again?” he countered, voice quavering.  “Who’s it for?” he spit out a second later, confirming his jealousy.

 

“That look in your eye.  It’s the same one you got every time you tried to fuck me.  The one that said you thought you could control me if you slept with me.  Maybe if you ever could’ve gotten it up, it would’ve worked,” Julia laughed.  “But fat chance of that happening.  Tell me, do you take pills now, to fix your “little problem”?  Or is that why you date girls so young?  They just want your money, so they’ll accept your poor performance?  Or,” Julia paused, laughing again, “are they even of legal age?  If they’re underage, you can’t show them your dick and they’ll never know you have a problem!  What an excellent solution!”

 

Roger was fuming.  “Maybe if you hadn’t been so cold, I could’ve gotten it up.”

 

Julia laughed wholeheartedly this time.  “Nothing like getting you to admit you have a problem!  We even have two witnesses!  Roger, darling,” she patted him on the shoulder, “they _do_ make pills for that.  You should try it.  Don’t make your poor date think it’s her fault.”

 

Roger turned on his heel and proceeded to storm off in a huff.

 

“Oh, and Roger?” she called after him.  “Next time my protection team says you’re not allowed somewhere, you’d do well to listen to them.”

 

Once Roger was out of sight, Julia heaved a sigh of relief and turned to look at David and Kim.  Both were barely able to contain their outrage at how Roger had treated her.

 

“Ma’am,” said David.  “Does he always treat you this way?”

 

“Sergeant, you’ve met him twice.  Was there much difference between this time and last time?’

 

“No, ma’am.”

 

“That’s a yes, then,” she said, in response to his question.  “Ever since the day he realized he couldn’t control me and that I would be more successful than him.”  She shook her head.  “He’s a bit daft, so it actually took him longer than expected to make those realizations.”

 

“He’s got to be told that’s inappropriate, ma’am.”

 

Julia scoffed.  “He’ll never learn.  As long as most of the men he’s around think it’s no big deal, he’ll continue to act this way.  I can usually get the better of him – like today.  My guess is he’s not too thrilled to have it pointed out that he’s bad in bed.  It shut him up, at the very least.”

 

“Ma’am,” David said, less than pleased with her response.  “If there’s something I can do…”

 

“No,” she sighed.  “Actually, yes.  Teach your son the right way to treat women.  And teach your daughter how to handle men who think they can control her.”  She looked at Kim.  “Right, Kim?”

 

“Yes, ma’am,” Kim agreed.

 

“Now,” Julia said, looking at both of them, “as much as I would prefer to chat with the two of you in this closet all night, I really should get going and make my presence known.  And see how much more I can torment Roger this evening.” 

 

“Yes, ma’am,” Kim and David replied, simultaneously.

 

Julia took her leave of her team and went to join the masses for the dinner. 

 

The dinner was enjoyable, at least as enjoyable as events like these typically were.  Julia was a natural in these settings, just as she’d been a natural at anything barrister-related before politics.  She really was her own woman – strong, confident.  She could be the center of attention without doing anything to actually be it.  People gravitated towards her – whether to hear what she had to say, discuss something important to them, or even to argue – because she had a way of compelling them to be around her.  She could silence a group with a look, and even in a large room, people always knew where she was.  Consequently, she didn't have many seconds to herself; very little uninterrupted time to gaze longingly at PS David Budd, wherever he was hovering along the perimeter.  But when those seconds came, few and far between, gaze she did.

 

Admiring David from afar, without his knowledge, was the highlight of Julia's evening, but as the evening wore on, David caught her.  She’d been staring at him from across the room, behind a glass of wine, for at least a minute.  He was in a group of other protection officers near the exit, so it shouldn’t have been obvious that she was staring at him; anyone else would've assumed she was lost in thought.  In a way, she was – thinking of all the things she wanted to do with him.  Then he turned, and their eyes met.  He knew.  The look he gave her made her practically melt.  The corners of his mouth lifted almost imperceptibly, in his classic almost-smile.  They maintained eye contact until Julia felt a hand on the small of back, startling her.

 

“Julia.” 

 

Julia turned.  It was Rob.  What was he even doing here?  Why had she told him he could attend?  She stepped away from his touch and glanced over her shoulder, but David was no longer where he had been.  She sighed.

 

“It's getting late.  I was going to leave,” Rob said.

 

_Thank God._  Julia turned away to look for David, but she couldn’t find him again.  Rob continued muttering on about something as she scanned the room, nodding her head and saying “mmmhmm” and “yes” at random intervals without caring what she was agreeing to.  Where was David?

 

Julia was suddenly jolted back into the conversation when Rob said “we.”

 

“…. We can go back to your flat and drink the wine I brought - it's one of your favorites.  It’s Friday.  Relax.  I'll go make sure your car is ready.”

 

“No,” Julia forcefully said.  Rob’s face dropped.   _What the hell did I agree to?_   “I'm going home.  _Alone_.”

 

Rob recovered faster than Julia thought was humanly possible.  “I understand, Julia.  It's been a stressful few weeks.  I'll save the bottle for next time.”

 

Before she responded, David was at her side.

 

“You wanted me, ma’am?” he asked, a smirk on his face.

 

“Yes….No... I…”  Speech escaped her as she tried not to blush.  “I just thought we might leave soon?”

 

Rob glowered at both of them before practically stomping off.  Julia couldn’t care less.

 

“Of course, ma’am.  Do you need anything else this evening?”

 

_You._

 

“No, nothing.  I’ll come find you when I’m ready,” she said.

 

“Of course, ma’am.  I’ll ask Terry to get the car ready now.”

 

“Very efficient.  Are you in a hurry, Sergeant?” she looked innocently at him.

 

“No, ma’am.  Just doing my best to serve you.  Never in a hurry, unless you need me to be,” he replied.

 

_Oh, the implications of that_.

 

“Good to know,” she said, nodding at him and walking away.

 

Within a half hour, Julia finished making her rounds, got her coat, and they left.  David’s hand _accidentally_ touched her back as he held the car door open for her.  She looked up at him in the rearview mirror as he took her seat and the hunger in his eyes made it impossible to look away.   She hoped Terry didn't notice the rising tension in the air.

 

Julia waited impatiently in the foyer of her flat while David did his security check.  Her heart was racing.  She wanted him.  She _needed_ him.

 

“All clear, ma’am,” she heard David say from the living room.

 

She went into the kitchen and poured herself a glass of wine.  When she looked up, David was in the doorway.  She smiled at him over her wine.  She tipped her head and pointed to the bottle of Scotch.

 

“I have Scotch,” she said.

 

“I saw,” he replied, voice low.

 

She poured him a glass, but he didn’t take it.  She set it down and looked at him, puzzled. 

 

“Are you… off duty yet?”

 

“Not until you say so.”

 

_Oh… Oh!_

 

Julia took another sip of wine and started to walk past him into the living room.  She paused for a second in front of him and leaned in close to whisper in his ear, “Then you’re not off duty yet, Sergeant.”  She continued on her path to the living room and when she turned around, she was pleased to see that though he hadn’t moved, he was watching her. 

 

She sat on the couch, staring at him.  Then she kicked her heels off, put her feet up on the couch, and leaned back.  She took another sip of wine.  One leg was straight out on the couch, the other was bent up so that the slit of her dress fell perfectly open on the leg, leaving her entire leg visible.  Another sip of wine.  Keeping the glass in one hand, she started to stroke her bare leg with her other hand, eyes still staring at David across the room.

 

“Ma’am,” he practically growled.  She could see his Adam’s apple bobbing as he swallowed.

 

“What is it, Sergeant?” she asked coyly.  “You’ve been a tease all week.  Now it’s my turn.”

 

A few more sips of wine, her hand running up and down her thigh, staring at David across the room.  She was doing it to tease him, but she could only last so long before it was too much for her.  She craved his touch and delaying him was only delaying her ultimate pleasure.  She leaned her head back onto the arm of the couch and sighed, locking eyes with him.

 

“You have better things to do right now than work, right Sergeant?” she asked.

 

“Aye, ma’am.  A number of things.  Very enjoyable things.  But you’re the tease and forgive me, but you’d do well to remember that payback’s a bitch.”

 

Julia quickly drew a breath.  He still had the upper hand, which excited her more than she expected it to.

 

“Then your work is done for tonight, PS Budd,” she whispered, releasing him from his duties.

 

David picked up the glass of Scotch and took a large sip before putting it back down on the countertop.  He stalked towards her like a lion stalks his prey.  Julia’s pulse quickened.  “Julia,” he sighed.

 

He sat on the edge of the couch.  He took the wine glass from her hand and set it down on the coffee table.  He removed her other hand from her thigh and replaced it with his, matching the gentle stroking of her leg with his own hand.

 

“ _I’m_ the tease?  You wear this dress all night and I can’t touch you?  I watch almost every man, _including your ex-husband_ , ogle you while I stand across the room and can’t stop them?  Listen to _Rob_ try to come home with you and can’t tell him to back off?” David scoffed.  “Just looking at you.  It took every strength I had not to get you away from them, alone, and …”  His voice trailed off.

 

“And what?” Julia asked, needing to know what he had wanted to do to her.

 

“And…” David stilled his hand on her thigh and leaned in, just barely ghosting his lips over hers, as if in answer to her question.  He pulled back before she could even try to deepen the kiss.

 

_That was frustrating._   Julia sighed.

 

“Patience.”  He laughed.  “And…” _There’s more?_   David’s hand resumed its downward path on her thigh, but this time didn’t stop when it reached the line of her dress.  It dove under the fabric and he traced a line down, down, down, right to the lace of her panties. 

 

Julia gasped and bit her lip, closing her eyes and tilting her hips up to increase the contact with David’s hand.  He started to stroke her through the lace.  _Yes, this was definitely the right dress to buy._   _And to think I almost didn’t go through with it._

 

As she opened her eyes, David’s mouth crashed into hers.  She moaned into him as she felt his tongue press her lips open.  She brought her hands up to cup his face and stroke his cheeks, quickly wrapping them around the back of his head and threading her fingers through his hair to hold him in place.  His hand continued its assault on her panties, which by now must’ve been soaked through.

 

They broke away from the kiss, each of them breathless.  Julia smiled a shy smile at him.  She raised her eyebrows as if to ask, _and now?_

 

David lowered his lips to hers again, but only briefly.  He proceeded to grace her jawline and neck with the softest of butterfly kisses.  She moaned again when he got to the sensitive spot beneath her ear and her hips bucked more forcefully up against his hand.

 

“The things I want to do with you, Julia,” he murmured huskily as he lifted his lips from her skin and pulled back to look her in the eye.  Lust, desire, passion.  Everything Julia felt in herself she saw reflected back at her.

 

Overcome with need, Julia demanded, “What are you waiting for?”

 

That was all the encouragement David needed.  The hand that had been stroking the lace of her panties pulled them roughly aside and started to stroke her folds.  Julia gasped.  Finding her more than wet enough, he slipped two fingers inside her. 

 

“ _David_ ,” she moaned, before using her hands to coerce David to bring his mouth back down to hers.  She wove her fingers through his hair and opened her mouth to him.  His mouth devoured hers and she responded in kind.  The feel of his tongue against hers combined with the feel of his fingers inside her was rapidly stoking the fire that had been slowly burning inside for the last week.

 

David pulled his mouth away to look at Julia’s face again.  She dropped her hands to his back.  Finding that he still wore his tuxedo jacket, she moaned in disappointment and brought her hands to the front to try to push it from his shoulders.

 

“No, no, no,” he smiled while his eyes burned into hers.  “Not yet.”  She pouted and cupped his face instead.

 

As his fingers continued to stroke Julia’s insides, she could hear how wet she was.  The feel of his fingers pleasing her was so much stronger than when she did it herself.  With each slide against her inner walls, Julia was closer and closer to coming.  She was going to come in record time.

 

David lowered his face to Julia’s again, but went for her ear instead of her mouth.  “You’re awfully wet,” he whispered against it, before taking her earlobe between his teeth.

 

“Mmmm,” Julia tried to murmur her agreement, but she was breathless, and all coherent thought escaped her.

 

At that moment, without removing his fingers, David swiped his thumb against her clit.  _Oh God._  Julia’s hips bucked up against his hand, increasing the pressure on her clit and taking his fingers deeper.  David continued to nibble on ear.  Julia panted and moaned.  She could feel the pressure building between her thighs as she tightened for her ultimate release.

 

“David,” she moaned again.  “I’m close, I’m so….”

 

And at that, David completely removed his fingers from inside, took her thumb off her clit, and released her earlobe.  He pulled back and looked at her deviously.

 

“What the…” Julia stammered.  “I almost…” She could barely breathe.

 

 “Almost _what_ , Julia?” he asked, taunting her.

 

Julia couldn’t speak.  She looked at David in shock.  _How could he?_

 

“Payback’s a bitch.”

  
Julia sighed.

 

David lifted himself off the couch and straightened his jacket.  He took a few steps toward the kitchen.

 

“Where are you going?” Julia breathed, panting through the words.

 

“I just wanted more scotch,” David replied, with an annoyingly innocent shrug of his shoulders.  “No touching while I’m away,” he added, as Julia’s hand crept closer and closer to the slit in her dress. 

 

“No?” she asked desperately.  She was so close.  A few more seconds only.  She needed that sweet release.

 

“Oh no,” he assured her.

 

Julia watched as David took a sip of scotch.  Then another.  And another.  She was still breathing so hard that she could see the frantic rise and fall of her breasts.

 

“David,” she begged.  “Please.”

 

He put down his glass and smiled.  As he walked back in the room, he asked, “Please _what?_ ”

 

Julia gulped.  This begging was embarrassing.  “Please make me come,” she whispered, desperation in her eyes.

 

David seated himself next to her again and resumed stroking her thigh.  She started to squirm under his touch.

 

“Please?”

 

David’s eyes locked with hers.  “If you say so.”

 

In an instant, his hand was under her dress again.  Two fingers dove inside her faster than Julia could process what was happening and his thumb pressed against her clit.

 

“David,” she cried.

 

One stroke.  Two, three, four.  Faster, faster.  Her hips practically jumped off the couch.  “David, I’m…” Julia broke off in a series of pants and moans.  Her eyes closed in complete ecstasy as she climaxed, her entire body shaking.  David slowed his fingers as he worked her down from her orgasm and brought his other hand to push the stray curls back from her face.

 

As Julia’s breathing started to come back under control, she opened her eyes.  David smiled at her.

 

“Feel good, darling?”

 

“The best,” she laughed.

 

David laughed back at her.  “That’s setting a pretty high standard for what comes next.”

 

Julia tilted her head at him, eyebrows raised.  “Next?”

 

“Oh,” he shook his head, eyes darkening again, “we’re nowhere near done.”

 

If words could make her come, Julia would’ve come again right then and there.

 

Julia gave a contented sigh and leaned up to cup David’s face.  She brought her lips to his and gave him a long, slow, passionate kiss.  As she pulled away, she dropped her hands to his shoulders and pushed at his jacket again.  This time he gave in and allowed her to free him from it, but when she moved to the buttons on his shirt, he stopped her.

 

“Patience,” he said.  “Only one article of clothing at a time.  You got my jacket.  I get…,” he paused and backed off the couch, dropping to his knees on the floor in front of her.  His eyes flickered over her hungrily.  He brought both hands to her hips and adjusted her so that she was sitting on the couch, one leg on each side of him.  His hands then went back to the slit in the dress and stroked up her thighs until he reached her soaked lace panties.  His hands went to caress her hips and tugged on the panties.  “These.”  Julia lifted off the couch just enough so that David could pull them off.

 

“I don’t think I’ve told you how much I love this dress,” he confessed, looking up at her through hooded eyes.  “I can do so much more with this one.”

 

Julia was ready for round two.  “Like what?” she asked lustfully.

 

“This time, it’s about what I want,” he said, his voice dropping.  “And I want to taste you.”

 

How could she complain about that?  Julia felt her arousal increasing again as she imagined David’s tongue licking, kissing, sucking, exploring every last part of her.

 

“Come closer to the edge.” 

 

Julia slid up to the edge of the couch, her breathing becoming erratic again.  David pushed up her dress so that she could spread her legs wider, opening herself fully to him.  He sat back on his heels and looked at her hungrily, then looked up at her eyes, unabashed by how much he wanted to taste her.  Julia bit her lip, overwhelmed by the feelings his look stirred in her.  To want her this much, to want to please her this much, the way he looked, the way he spoke, the way he touched her, the way he was… pairing all that with the desire in his eyes was almost too much for her to handle.

 

“Julia,” he murmured, before dropping his lips to her left knee.  He worked his way up her left leg, kissing and sucking and blowing on her skin until he almost reached the top.  Then he moved to her right leg and repeated his ministrations on her skin there.  When he got to the top of that leg, he stopped, raised his head minutely and blew on her clit from.  Julia sighed as she felt his warm breath move across her.  She needed him again, quicker and faster than she’d ever needed anyone after already coming once.

 

David raised his head an inch more and looked her in the eye.  She could feel the desire emanating from him. 

 

“I bet you’re delicious, Julia,” he breathed, letting his own lust become more apparent.  He raised an eyebrow, as though to question whether he could taste her.

 

_Damn you, David.  I’m not used to begging._

 

“Please,” she heard herself plead.

 

David parted her thighs a bit wider and dropped his mouth to her sex.  His tongue darted out to put pressure on her clit and Julia immediately bucked and moaned at the contact.  She heard David chuckle and he patted a gentle hand on her thigh.

 

“Easy, Julia,” he said.  “We have all night.  No need to rush.”

 

As he spoke, his chin tickled the inside of her thighs and his breath warmed her skin.

 

“I’m not rushing,” she muttered, without fulling comprehending that she was speaking.  “I just want you.”

 

Pleased with her response, David placed his mouth back on Julia, bringing his tongue between her folds to taste her.  She heard him groan as he tasted her for the first time.  His lips pressed against her core and she moaned as her hips bucked up to meet him again.  His tongue was easily the most talented that had ever played with her.

 

As David’s tongue darted in and out of her, and occasionally pressed against her clit, he held her hips steady with one hand and raised the other to caress her breasts.  Julia tried to get her breathing under control, but with the dance that his tongue was performing between her thighs and the feel of his hand cupping her breasts through her dress, it was impossible.

 

Julia started to squirm more, as she got wetter and wetter the more David licked.  It wasn’t fair.  He was too good at this.

 

Julia threw her head back as she felt her thighs begin to shake.

 

“Relax, darling,” he whispered against her clit.  “Another few minutes.”  He stroked her thigh gently as he eased her away from climaxing too soon.  Julia felt the tension flow out of thighs as her body calmed for a second or two.  But no sooner had she relaxed than David’s mouth was back on her clit, his tongue darting between her folds.

 

Knowing that it wouldn’t take much, David increased the rhythm at which his tongue was penetrating her.

 

“Da---,” she moaned again, but bit her lip before she could finish his name.  She wove her fingers through his hair, keeping his mouth in place.  The pleasure that was about to quake through her was going to be stronger than the first time and she’d be damned if he stopped before she was done.

 

David’s tongue was determined and insistent on pleasing her and now both of his hands were on her hips to hold her in place.  Julia rocked against his mouth as she felt the fire explode in her core.  She pulled on his hair as she cried his name, completely overcome by the pleasure washing over her.

 

David continued, undeterred.  His tongue and his mouth pressed up against her wet and throbbing sex as she rode out her second orgasm.

 

Julia was shaking from head to toe.  Her breath was ragged.  Her legs were weak.  She removed her hands from David’s hair and shakily dragged one hand through her curls, trying to bring herself back to normal. 

 

David removed his mouth from Julia’s sex and looked up at her.

 

“Earth to Julia.  Come back down,” he laughed.  “Don’t leave me.”

 

Julia just stared at him.  She had no words.  This was the most blissful anyone had made her feel in… well, forever.  And for the first time in a long time, it was better than using her own hand.

 

“Julia,” David whispered gently, as he leaned up to kiss her. 

 

Julia kissed him back, bringing her hands back to his head and caressing him.  She moaned into his mouth.

 

“Satisfied?” he asked, a teasing look in her eye.

 

“Mmmhmm,” she replied, still not able to use her words.  “You’re…” _Amazing? Talented?  Dangerous?_ “… very good.”

 

She closed her eyes again, relishing in the pleasure that he had given her.  She opened them when she felt David’s thumb stroking her hand.

 

“I told you that you needed to conserve your energy for tonight,” he joked.

 

Julia laughed.  “How many times do you seriously think I can come in one night?”

 

“Is that a challenge?” David replied huskily.

 

“Mmmhmm,” Julia mumbled as she nodded her assent.  She was tired.  She felt so peaceful, so at ease.  She leaned up and reached around David for her glass of wine.  After taking a sip, she continued, “I’m going to need a few minutes before we go again.”

 

David stood and went to the kitchen for his scotch.  “Tiring you out, _ma’am_?”

 

“No,” she immediately and emphatically  denied.  Watching him walk into the kitchen had sparked her desire again – seeing the pull of his shirt across his shoulders, the slim line of his waist where his shirt met his tuxedo pants, the pull of his pants as they hugged his arse.  Julia bit her lip as she continued to stare at him. 

 

When he turned around and looked at her, there was a smug look in his eye, but before he could say another word, Julia pulled herself together and stood.  She slid her heels back on and started to slowly walk towards him, putting a sway in her hips.  He watched her, enchanted.

 

“You…” she paused and took another step closer.  “Are…” A few more steps.

 

_What word is good to use on a man?_   _Gorgeous, beautiful, ravishing.  All too feminine._   _Amazing, wonderful.  Too ordinary.  Shit._   She almost stumbled as she realized she committed to a sentence she wasn’t sure she could finish.

 

David tilted his head in question.

 

“Wearing…” she continued.  “ _Far_ too many clothes,” she finished as she neared him.  She took the scotch glass from his hand, finished off the drink herself, and placed the glass on the counter.  She had his full attention.  His eyes flashed at hers, his longing burning into her.

 

Julia stepped in close to David and ran her finger up the front of David’s shirt, to the collar.  “ _This_ ,” she emphasized, “needs to go.”

 

She took another step closer so that their bodies were almost flush to each other.  She dropped her hand from his collar and tugged at his waistband  “So do these.” 

 

She cupped him through his pants and heard his quick intake of breath.  “Because I want… _this_ ,” she continued.  She felt like such a tease as she played with the already enormous bulge in his pants, determined not to let it distract her and give him the lead again.    


“Fuck, Julia,” David murmured.

 

Julia removed her hand and draped both arms around his neck.  With her heels on, she was slightly taller than he was.  She pulled her lower body in tight to his, grinding her hips against him.  The feel of his desire throbbing against her was almost more than she could bear.

 

“Bedroom, David,” she whispered seductively as she lifted her hand, wrapped her arms around his neck once more, and leaned in towards his ear.  “Now.  I need your clothes off and I believe you promised to undress me.”

 

David turned towards Julia’s mouth and locked his onto it, his tongue fighting for dominance again inside of her.  They moaned simultaneously and broke away. 

 

“Bedroom, David,” she repeated.

 

“As you wish,” he growled.  Julia’s arms were still around his neck and before she could register what was happening, David lifted her from the floor.  She clung to him as he turned and rested her on the counter to adjust her, pushing her dress to the side so she could wrap her legs around his waist as he carried her.  From this position, she could feel the hardness of David’s cock pressing into her and she knew she needed to feel it, skin on skin, inside of her, before too long.

 

With a good hold on her, David backed them away from the counter and effortlessly carried Julia into her bedroom.  He stopped just shy of the bed and set her down.

 

Julia immediately reached for his tie and undid it.  She moved on to the buttons on his shirt, hastily tearing at them.  She tugged the shirt from his waistband and finished with the remaining buttons.  She pushed the shirt from his shoulders and looked in bewilderment at the bulletproof vest.

 

_How do I get this off?_

 

Sensing her confusion, David removed it himself, but when Julia went to pull his undershirt up and over his arms, he stopped her.  “Not this time,” he murmured.  There was a shift in his eyes, back to something uncertain.  He looked scared, concerned, hesitant.

 

Julia leaned in and kissed him.  “Okay,” she assured him, unsure of why it was a problem.  She changed the subject.   “I need help.”  She turned her back to him, granting him permission to undress her. 

 

“I need you,” he replied, his voice quavering as he skimmed his hands over the exposed skin of her upper back.  He undid the zipper and slid the shoulder strap off her shoulder.  He turned her back around and, eyes locked with hers, started to push the dress down, inch by inch.  It fell to the floor and pooled around her ankles.  She smiled at him and he looked.  And looked.  And looked.  She stepped around the dress and back in front of David, wearing only her heels.

 

“See anything you like?” she asked, teasing him.  She brought her hand back to cup him through his pants once more.

 

“God, Julia,” he groaned, thrusting his hips into her hand.  “Are you serious?  Yes.  _All_ of you.”

 

Julia simply smiled.  She moved her hand and slowly unbuttoned and unzipped his pants.  She felt her heart beating so hard she was sure that David could hear it.  Pants loosened, she pushed them down, but didn’t look.  David kicked off his shoes, stepped out of his pants, and removed his socks.  All that he wore now was his undershirt and boxers. 

 

David’s eyes pierced hers.  The blue was almost entirely gone, replaced with pure desire.  Julia dropped her gaze back to his boxers.  They were extremely form-fitting and left nothing to the imagination.  His cock strained at the fabric.  Julia went weak at the knees.   _God, he’s gorgeous._


	12. Third Time's the Charm

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone! I can't believe it's been a month since I last posted. I'm sorry. Thank you to everyone who has asked about me and cared about where I went! July was probably my busiest month at work so far this year, so I just haven't had much energy or time to write.
> 
> I envisioned this chapter being significantly longer, but cut it short just to get it posted. And by doing so, I made it a lot more sweet and sappy than I first envisioned. I hope you like it. I am really excited about my next three chapters (at the very least), and I will try very hard to get them up much more promptly!
> 
> Please leave your comments and feedback. I love hearing from you!

Julia had never felt this attracted to anyone before.  She had never felt this level of desire.  This degree of passion.  This overwhelming need.  If she thought she had it bad before, it was _nothing_ compared to how she felt seeing David in his boxers in her bedroom.

 

Time slowed down as Julia stepped towards David.  She reached her hands out to his hips and started to stroke at the top of the waistband, finding it impossible to tear her gaze away from where his cock was throbbing at the skin-tight fabric. 

 

“These have to go, David,” she whispered.  She pushed at the waistband and started to slide them down over his hip bones.  She pushed them down further, tugging at the band to get it around his cock, now suddenly free and larger and harder than she imagined.  She pushed them down further still, around his toned thighs and calves, until she was on her knees to coax him to step out of his boxers, one foot at a time.

 

Finally raising her eyes from the extremely obvious evidence of his arousal, she met his gaze while still on her knees in front of him. 

 

“Julia,” he practically growled, “what are you doing?”

 

Continuing to look up at him, she wrapped her hands around his firm ass and brought her mouth to his cock.  She thought about just licking him, teasing him, maybe stroking him, but decided against it.  She took his whole cock in her mouth instantly.

 

“Fuck, Julia,” David moaned.  He reached down and rested his hands on her head as she worked her talented mouth up and down his shaft.  “Not that I don’t appreciate that,” he sighed, “but if you keep that up, I’m not going to last very long.  I want to come in your pussy, with you.”

 

As Julia backed off his cock, David helped her stand and his mouth crashed onto hers again.  He wrapped his hands around her head to hold her in place, then dropped them to her bare back, and then lower again to her arse, squeezing gently and pulling her lower body towards his. 

 

Julia gasped as she felt the press of David’s cock against her leg.  She was so wet still; she was so ready for him.  Aching to feel him, she started to back away from David and towards the bed.  Once David realized that was her goal, he followed suit, keeping their bodies flush as he pushed her to the edge of the bed. 

 

Julia felt the bed behind her and eased onto it, legs open wide off the edge, allowing David to stand between them. 

 

“Lay down, Julia,” he gently commanded, but it was a command, nonetheless.  She started to lean back slowly, propping herself up on her elbows to stare at him.

 

David was watching her every move, and clearly enjoying it. 

 

“No, darling, in the center of the bed, all the way down.”

 

Julia readjusted and slid back further, until she felt her head cushioned by the pillows.  As she got there, David reached down to her feet and removed her heels.  “We clearly did not take advantage of you wearing these,” he said as he did so.  “I love them, but I don’t fancy a stiletto in my leg while we do this, so we’ll save these for next time.”

 

Julia laughed.  

 

_Next time?  Mmmmm._

 

For what felt like five minutes, though it was probably no more than five seconds, David simply stood by the edge of bed, admiring Julia.  She watched as his eyes roamed over her, taking in every last detail of her naked body.  She was slightly disappointed that she couldn’t do the same of him, since his undershirt was still on, but seeing the desire in his eyes as he looked at her brought her to cloud nine.

 

“God, you’re beautiful, Julia,” he whispered reverently.  “Touch yourself.”

 

David must’ve seen the shock in Julia’s eyes at that request.  She’d never touched herself in front of someone before.  (Well, not that he could see, anyway.  When she and Roger were together, she frequently had to finish herself off after he fell asleep, but that didn’t count.  He wasn’t watching.)

 

To encourage her, David took his cock in his hand and started stroking. 

 

Julia gasped and her hips involuntarily arched off the bed.  She needed his cock inside her.  Not teasing her like this.

 

David smirked.  “You like what you see?”

 

Julia nodded. 

 

“You want it?”

 

She nodded again.

 

“Then touch yourself.  Show me you’re ready again.”

 

While watching David stroke himself, Julia brought her right hand down to her pussy.  She started by rubbing small circles on her clit, then slipped a finger inside, followed by another.  Instinct told her to close her eyes and succumb to the pleasure she was giving herself, but desire forced her to keep them open and watch David’s slow and steady strokes.  When she dared to glance up at his face, she saw that he was biting his lower lip while concentrating on the movement of her fingers between her folds. 

 

_Let’s see if the tables can turn_.

 

Julia brought her other hand to her breasts and started to caress her first one and then the other.  She moaned as she rolled a nipple between her fingers.  The sound drew David’s eyes off her pussy and up to her face, then they immediately dropped back down to where her hand was teasing her breasts.  She continued to moan and gently rock her body against the bed.

 

David stopped his own stroking to watch.

 

“David,” she asked, raising an eyebrow, “are you going to make me come, or am I in this alone this time?  Because I want to come again.  And I’d prefer the help of your cock.”

 

David smiled.  “As much as I’d love to see you come undone by yourself, I’m more than happy to help you out.”    

 

Before she knew it, David was on the bed, kneeling over her.  He gently took the hand from her pussy and licked her fingers clean.  He took the other hand from where it was still fondling her breasts and put both of them over her head, holding them together in one of his hands. 

 

“No hands,” he teased.  “Not yet, anyway.”

 

He leaned down and kissed her mouth, slow and sensually.  The passion and desire were still there, but the urgency and frantic pace that defined their previous kisses was gone.  His tongue slowly danced with hers as they took turns to taste and explore each other.  Still holding her hands above her head, he moved his kisses across her chin, under her ear and down her neck. 

 

Julia sighed.  The kisses were so gentle.

 

David released her hands and looked back up at her face, caressing it and running his fingers through her curls as best he could while she lay back on the pillows. 

 

Julia sighed.  He was so gentle.

 

David dropped his mouth back down to her neck and slowly rained kisses along her collarbone, her shoulders, and down to her breasts.  He took one taught nipple in his mouth, gently flicking his tongue over the peak, while his hand caressed the other breast.  Then he switched. 

 

Julia moaned. 

 

Releasing her nipple, David continued the stream of kisses down her tight stomach and onto her hip bones.  His hands gently massaged her hips as she rotated them up to him. 

 

From her hips, he started to kiss down one leg and back up the other while his hands started to roam freely over every inch of her.  Every inch, that is, except her pussy.

 

Reaching the top of her second leg, David continued back up her body.  She felt completely at ease, completely relaxed.  This was better than a massage. 

 

Never before had she been worshiped like this.  She didn’t even know it was possible.

 

David finally came back to her mouth, first taking her tongue in his, then sucking gently on her lower lip.  He pulled back and looked her in the eye.  It was only then that Julia realized that the only parts of him that touched her during this entire time were his mouth and his hands.  He’d managed to keep the rest of his body off of her.

 

“Yes, David,” she replied to his unspoken question.  “I want you.”

 

“Good,” he smiled.  “Because I want you, too.”

 

With that, David gently eased his cock into Julia’s more-than-ready pussy.  Julia sighed as she felt the hard length of him push inside her.  Deeper, and deeper.  He was large.  Larger than most.  Very well endowed.  And it felt so good. 

 

“David,” she sighed.  She wrapped her legs around his back, urging him closer, deeper.  She wrapped her hands around his shoulders and brought his head down so she could kiss his mouth. 

 

They started to move in time with each, rocking gently.  Julia expected their first time to be hot, quick, desperate.  The desire that had been building all week was like kindling ready to burst into flame, and she assumed it would take all their self-control to make it last, but she was wrong.  It was a slow, deep burn instead.  One that was fueled by their gentle strokes, building up in strength and power.  This wasn’t fucking; this wasn’t a one-night stand.  This was making love.  And Julia had never experienced it before.

 

Julia’s hands ran up and down David’s shirt, caressing him as he worshiped her body, whispering his name to encourage him further.  At one point, she reached for his ass and pulled him closer.  Then, as she brought her hands back up his back, they slipped under his shirt rather than over it.  She felt scar tissue, a lot of it.

 

_That’s why the shirt stayed on._

 

Trying not to draw attention to what she discovered, she slid her hands back down to David’s ass and drew him closer again.  Thankfully, he hadn’t seemed to notice. 

 

Julia felt her walls start to clench.  Her legs started to tighten around David.  It wouldn’t be long before she came again, but she desperately wanted to come in time with David.

 

“David,” she moaned.  Then she started to pant.  She was almost there.  “David,” she gasped again.  “Are you… I want to come together.  Please.  If you’re close.”

 

“Look at me,” he replied.  Julia didn’t realize she’d had her eyes closed.

 

She opened her eyes.  Their eyes met and Julia felt as if she were staring into David’s soul, a soul that saw her and wanted her for who she really was.  It was the undoing of her.  Her body convulsed around him as she felt him simultaneously spill into her.  They rocked together, riding out the throws of their joint orgasm.

 

Never before had Julia felt so at peace.


	13. The Shirt off his Back - Part 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone! Sorry for my long hiatus. Work got insanely busy and rather than come home and write (or take writing breaks through the day), I often would only read all of your amazing fics instead! So thank you to all of you for your continued writing, keeping me entertained the last few months. And thank you for being willing to come back to this one! I hope you enjoy it :)

Julia wanted to savor this moment with David as long as possible.  He had rolled off of her after they finished, but one arm was still wrapped around her and his legs remained tangled with hers.  She brought a hand up to caress his cheek.  Rather than pull him in closer for a kiss, she ran her hand across his jawline, down his neck, and onto his shoulder.  His blue eyes penetrated hers the entire time.  When her fingers reached his shoulder, she saw the insecurity come back into his eyes.  She let her fingers slide gently down to his chest, where she started to trace tender circles over his shirt.  She watched his eyes closely for any increased anxiety, but the more she caressed his chest, the more he seemed to relax.

 

“You're going to put me to sleep if you keep doing that, Julia,” David whispered.

 

Julia stilled her hand.  “Is that such a bad thing?” she asked, trying to sound playful.  She had assumed he'd stay the entire night, but his comment made her unsure.  “You're welcome to… actually _sleep_ here… if you want.”

 

David chuckled.  “No,” he said.  “It’s not a bad thing.  And I’d like nothing more than to stay.  I just thought…”

 

David’s silence was slightly unnerving.

 

“Thought what?”

 

“Thought we'd do a little more before falling asleep,” he replied with a cheeky grin.  He propped himself up on his elbow to look at her and lifted his other arm off from where it was wrapped around her.  His free hand started to roam over her body – chin, breasts, nipples, stomach – and then, as he freed his legs from hers and rolled her onto her back, he separated her legs and dragged his hand down to the space between her thighs.  Seeking her folds again, he caressed them, finding them just as wet and willing as before.

 

A moan escaped from Julia’s throat, unbidden.

 

“See?  Look what you'd be missing if you put me to sleep,” David teased.

 

Julia closed her eyes as David continued to touch her, succumbing to the pleasure once again.  Damn her body for giving away how much she wanted him.  David’s fingers were gentler this time, but no less effective.  She was moaning again within minutes, and already felt like she was on the brink of coming again.  How was it possible?  Did being sex-starved make her come this easily, or was David really that good?

 

As those thoughts flitted through her mind, David lowered his mouth to her neck and located the sensitive spot by her ear again.  That, combined with the increased pressure of his fingers inside her, convinced her that he really must be this good.

 

“Relax, Julia,” he whispered against her neck.  “Come again for me.  Come now.”

 

As soon as David said those words, Julia’s body started to quake.  She felt her core convulse around his fingers.  She gasped, startled at the immediate effect those words had had on her body. 

 

When her body finally came down from its – what was this, fourth? – orgasm of the night, Julia opened her eyes to find David still staring longingly at her.  _This has to be a dream.  This can't be possible._  Her eyes roved over his body, trying to take him all in, but continually getting stuck on the fact that his torso was covered.

 

Julia turned on her side to face David and started drawing circles over his chest again, trying to buy time to figure out what to say.  Knowing she just had to do it, she took a deep breath.

 

“David, this has been…,” she sighed a happy sigh.  “Amazing.  _You_ are amazing.  But this isn’t _just_ about sex for me.  I want to get to know every part of you, whenever you’re comfortable revealing it.  And that means your scars, too.”  She felt David tense under her hand as she said that.  “I felt them.  I’m sorry.  I didn’t mean to, but I did.  And they don’t bother me.  They’re part of _you_.  I want _you._   _All_ of you.  I don’t know exactly where this is going, but I hope that at some point you trust me enough to know that and be comfortable.”  She felt David’s chest drop as he exhaled fully.  “It doesn’t have to be today.  It doesn’t have to be any time soon.  I just want you to know that.”  She leaned over and kissed his cheek.

 

“Now, I’m starting to get cold and before we climb under the blankets, I need to use the loo.”

 

David remained still and silent as Julia got out of bed.  She looked back at him, worried.  Maybe it had been wrong to mention the scars so soon.  There was too much tension in the air now. 

 

As she continued to the bathroom, she saw David’s dress shirt on the floor where they had tossed it.  It gave her an idea.  She picked it up and put it on, then turned in a circle as though asking David for his opinion on how it looked.  “What do  you think?  Still think it looks good on me?”

 

A trace of a smile crossed David’s face.  “Aye.  But I prefer you topless.”

 

Julia blushed.  After everything he’d done to her tonight, she didn’t know how referring to her topless could cause her to blush, but it did.

 

“I have a secret to share.”  She smiled conspiratorially.  “Your shirt?  The one you let me borrow after Chanel spilled coffee on me?”

 

David nodded, but he looked confused. 

 

“I… I didn’t think I’d ever have to admit this, but I will.  I wore it to bed.  It reminded me of you.  It made me feel safe.  Like your arms were around me, even though I didn’t realize how much I wanted you.”

 

David gave her a genuine smile.  “I can give you one better tonight.  You can have my arms around you for real.”

 

Julia smiled back.  “I like the sound of that.  Give me a minute and I’ll hold you to it.”

 

Five minutes later, Julia came back out of the en suite, still wearing David’s shirt.  One look at him paused her mid-step.  He was sitting up under the covers, but the covers only came to his waist.  His bare waist.  Which was below his bare stomach, below his bare chest, below his bare shoulders.  His undershirt was gone. 

 

David gave her a shy smile.  “Can I tell you something?”

 

“Anything.” 

 

David patted the bed beside him.  “Come, get comfortable first.”

 

Julia pulled back the covers on what was now her _side_ of the bed, and slid in.

 

Seeing her settled, David lay down, pulled the covers up to his armpits, stared up at the ceiling and started to talk.

 

“The scars…I was in the Army for ten years.  Medically discharged after an IED explosion four years ago.  I wasn’t supposed to survive.”  Julia could hear the pain in David’s voice.  “When I came home, Vicky… She was upset.  I couldn’t blame her.  She’d never wanted me to serve.  Told me it was too dangerous.  Asked me to get out, again and again, especially after Ella was born and when she was pregnant with Charlie.  She said I had a duty to my family and I was ignoring it.  Then I came back.  Damaged.  Destroyed.  Physically.”  David paused.  The room, the entire flat, was completely silent.  David took a deep breath.  “Mentally.”  His breathing became ragged.  Tears started to form in the corners of his eyes.  A good twenty seconds passed before he spoke again.

 

“When we tried to… have sex… for the first time after I was discharged and as recovered as was necessary, Vicky told me she couldn’t bare to see the scars or feel the scars.  She had been caring for me, day in and day out.  Seeing the scars, washing the scars, touching them.  They were the visible reminder of everything that had changed.  Because nothing was the same.  She asked me to cover them.  That in that moment, she wanted to remember who I used to be.”  David stopped again.  “Who I _used_ to be.  I was someone different to her.  She didn’t want my scars.  She didn’t want who I had become.  I agreed.  I thought if we could have some normalcy back in our lives, everything would be okay.  But it wasn’t.”  Julia saw David clench his fist into the blankets.  “I had night terrors.  She didn’t think it was safe for me to sleep in the bed with her.  I started sleeping on the couch.  And every time we had sex, I had to cover my scars.  Not that we had sex that many more times.  I don’t think she touched me for at least a year before we separated.”  David unclenched his fist.

 

“I haven’t… _been_ … with anyone since Vicky.  It’s habit, I suppose.  An old habit, but a safe one.  Designed to protect someone from the horrors of war.  And to protect myself from having to share them.”  David sighed.

 

Julia remained silent, unsure if he was done.  The tears in the corners of his eyes started to slowly and silently fall down his face.  She reached over and took the hand closest to her and with her other hand, brushed away the tears on his face. 

 

“It’s okay,” she said gently, stroking his tear-stained cheeks.  “Your scars won’t scare me away.  Thank you, for telling me.”  She felt the tears slow and eventually stop.  She gently turned his face to look at her.

 

“I meant it.  What I said earlier.  I want you, all of you.  Whenever and however you’re able to share it.”  She leaned over and kissed him softly on the lips.  She pulled away and looked into his eyes.  She saw fear, uncertainty, insecurity – everything she had seen since some of their earliest flirting.  It pained her to know what he had gone through, virtually alone.  She leaned closer and kissed his forehead.  One cheek, then the other.  His nose.  His eyes had closed, so she kissed his eyelids.  His lips again, which sighed into her upon contact this time.  And then down.  His neck.  His collarbone.  One shoulder then the other.  She lowered the covers to his waist and feathered kisses down his chest to his navel, feeling increasingly turned on by the sight and touch of his perfect chest hair and deliciously toned abs.  As she leaned over him, she accidentally brushed against his cock, which was already hardening and tenting the covers.  She pulled the covers back further and took him in her mouth. 

 

“Julia,” he gasped.

 

“Shhhh,” she hushed against his straining cock.  “Relax.”  She worked her mouth around his cock, up and down, licking his shaft, swirling her tongue over the tip while the hand not holding her up ran up and down his bare chest.  “Just relax,” she repeated.  “I want you.  All of you,” she kept reassuring him.

 

“Julia,” he moaned, just before he came in her mouth. 

 

Julia swallowed and pushed hair out of her face.  She continued to stroke David’s chest, caressing him and comforting him.  She kissed her way back up his chest before resting her head on his heart and pulling the covers over both of them.  “Just sleep,” she whispered.  “I’m here.”

 


End file.
